Contact
by Here4thebooks
Summary: Slade's back and all he wants is his son by his side, Robin is going though a hard time accepting what happened to him a year ago and Jericho wants nothing the do with his dad after how he left Adeline all those years go. Jericho only wants to find a family that he can make true contact with. Please review!
1. welcomed

Jericho climbed up the steps at the front of the Teen Titan's Tower. It was clear the tower wasn't going to put up defences against him as he had brought his communicator just in case he needed to verify who he was. He was also on the Titans data base as an honorary Titan so he doubted he would be turned upon by the tower's defence systems.

Although he liked Jump City and its seemingly constant bright and sunny exterior he much preferred the quiet stillness of the mountains, in which he had lived since his mother's death. He wouldn't have come to Jump without a reason for it.

When he got to the doors he was unsure of what to do next, there was no doorbell and there was no use in knocking as all the main rooms were on the upper levels. Instead of looking for another way in he just stood there for a few minutes just looking up in wonder at the sheer size of the tower, even though he had been there once before he was still stunned at the size of the tower his friends lived in.

The door opened suddenly causing Jericho to fall backwards in surprise. A green boy with pointy ears and fangs looked down at him, smiling. When they fought alongside one another Beast Boy had disliked Joey's silence and seemingly useless powers but Jericho had proven himself and they had parted as friends.

"Hey Jericho, we saw you were out here but it takes a while to get down here from the top," the green Titan explained apologetically.

Jericho knew this would happen, it was hard for him to communicate with the other titans because as far as he knew Robin was the only one who knew sign language as well as a range of others. To compensate for this he had written the basics on cue cards until he was able to see Robin so that he could communicate with less complications with others.

 _Hi, it's great to see you again, you can call me Joey since we're not in a battle._

Beast Boy quickly red the card and grinned, "so why'd you drop by, dude? It's a long way away from that mountain of yours."

 _Sorry if I came at a bad time but I need your help!_

He frowned at that, "what do you need our help with, Joey?" then he seemed to remember Joey was on the door mat. "Oh sorry dude, come in."

 _I need to speak with Robin. He knows sign language._ He held up as they walked together to the elevator to the main room.

"Okay, I'll call him to join us, I think him and Starfire are out on a date," Beast Boy giggled.

Twenty minutes later the whole team was sitting on the circular couch facing Jericho. Robin had said he would translate what Joey was saying to the rest of the group. He took a deep breath to calm his shot nerves before he started rambling incoherently.

 _Hi, you all know me, so just call me joey, but you don't know something about me that I'm truly scared to tell you because I know you won't like me or even hate me for it. I'm sorry in advance but… the man you know as Slade is… Well he's my father._

Robin started to translate this information to the others but when he got to the part about the boy's father he stopped, trying to comprehend what Joey had just said but he finished the sentence and swived to face Jericho.

"Why are you here Jericho? Do you have information for us or are you just here to confess that your father is a sociopath?" Robin's voice was unnecessarily cold, coursing Jericho to step back, tears glistening in his eyes. He had known that he would receive a less that warm welcome from Robin after what happened with the man only a year ago.

 _Please listen to me Robin! I need your help, I don't know how to fix this._

"Please tell us what courses you sadness Jericho?" Starfire asked stepping up to comfort the boy, aiming a sharp glare at Robin coursing him to murmur an apology to the small blonde boy.

 _After I went home from fighting with the Titans I got a letter from him._ With that he pulled out a folder piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the Boy Wonder to read out loud.

"Dear Joey," Robin begin. "It has come to my attention that you have recently shown your skill level in fighting alongside the Titans. This makes me extremely pleased with your progress as I never saw you as an adequate replacement for Grant but you seem to have proven me wrong. As I regrettably informed of Addie's death it seems I am now your legal guardian, so in one week I will come all collect you from your solitude and start your training as soon as possible. This is not up for debate, Joey, you will train as your brother did. See you soon son, love your father."

Robin stopped reading the letter and started immediately translating Joey's quick, frantic signs.

 _I don't want to be with him! I hate him! He's the reason I'm like this!_ Joey pulled down his high necked collar to reveal a jagged scar that ran along his neck like a gruesome second smile.

"Wait, he cut your throat? Dude that is not cool even for Slade, that man is so sick." Cyborg scoffed in surprise.

Jericho shook his head violently, _he didn't, a rival assassin did. But he might as well have, he didn't save me in time._ The Titans nodded in understanding.

"It's okay, Joseph, we refuse to have another Titan tormented by this masked madman." Raven reassured, feeling his fear as if it were her own.

"Yeah dude, we won't let him get to you like he did with Terra!" Beast Boy said determinedly, jaw set in a hard line at the harsh memory.

"The man probably doesn't even know sigh language," Cyborg laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

That made the boy giggle silently but the laughter was gone almost at once. What if Slade wanted him because he couldn't talk or speak out against him or even call out for help? He expressed his fears to Robin and the Boy Wonder nodded solemnly.

"Yes Joe that's probably what makes you so appealing to him, you're his son but you can't argue like I did. You wouldn't be able to defy him with words," Robin smiled ruthfully. "So defy him with will."

"But we will never let that happen friend Jericho! I am sure Slade will not show you mercy because you are blood, he will never be your K'nothka! " Starfire said definitely.

Joey didn't even try and ask what K'nothka meant, he didn't know how to sign the word.

He was extremely happy that his friends were more than willing to help him even knowing his lineage.

"Hey Joey, why didn't you just call us about it from your… place, we could have come to pick you up from there? Don't you still have a communicator?" Cyborg asked trying in vain to lighten the boy's mood.

 _I do but the screen broke and there was no use calling you as I couldn't tell you anything so I didn't even try._ Joey signed matter-of-factly.

"Oh dude, you should have said something, here I'll make you a new and improved one," and with that he was off down to his Tec lab to improve Joey's old communicator.

By then Robin had pulled out two files still leaking in size. "These are files containing all the information we have collected over the past two years on Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke and his known associate Major William Wintergreen. We have a bit on each but I was hoping you could fill in the blanks cause you know…" he trailed off.

 _Will is a family friend, he's like my uncle. He was in the army with my dad and was put on a suicide mission but dad disobeyed orders to go save him. Will is trying to repay this debt with loyalty. He stayed with my family and helped take care of my brother and I when dad was too sick to look after us himself or when he was just out in secret murdering people._

"Why was Slade _sick_?" Robin inquired coldly almost happy that the man had suffered to some extent.

 _Slade offered to take part in military experiments that gave him the super human strength, speed, and agility. He is also able to use 90% of his brain capacity making him a master tactician. It made him very sick for months when I was really young that's why the military discharged him._

"So, who's this 'Addie' in the letter?"

 _She is… was my mum. She hated it when he called her Addie after she shot his eye out and-_

"Wait what? Your mum shot Slade's eye out? I love this woman ready! She sounds amazing!" Beast Boy cried looking in awe at Jericho making him squirm in discomfort.

 _Yes, she was. I know parents aren't supposed to have favourites when it comes to their own children but Slade would never hang out with me. I guess we didn't really have that much in common with one another but he would always be with my brother teaching him how to fight or to shot a gun. I didn't want to learn but mum was always there to listen to me, back in the day I could play guitar and piano and I could sing, he never came to listen to me play._

Suddenly Cyborg walked in and yelled 'boo ya!' and handed Joey a communicator that looked a lot like he previous one.

"Brand new screen so you can FaceTime us, you can text emergency messages and if you press this button," he pointed to a small yellow button with an E printed on it, "patches you straight to Robin, even if his is off it will force it to turn on and vice versa. Told you it would be new and improved."

 _Thanks,_ Joey sighed awkwardly still holding the device.

"No problem, I gave Robin's the same upgrade after you know…" he too trailed off not wanting to finish.

"When was the letter sent? Joe." Robin asked firmly wanting to get down to business and change the subject.

 _Six days ago. It took me a long time to get here I was scared I wouldn't make it in time. He probably knows that I left the mountains, he's probably been watching me. Oh God I thought I'd be safe!_

Raven could feel his anxiety rise to an unhealthy level as she guided him to a chair before his knees gave out from under him. She almost feared he would have a stroke, the last time she had seen someone in this state it had been Robin and he had been controlled by the Dust. There was no Dust this time, causing her to wonder what could make such a placid boy so petrified.

 _If mum was here she'd stop him. He's only doing it now because no one is stopping him from doing it!_

"You're wrong, we are here to do the stopping friend Joey," Star smiled at him making him like warm and fuzzy inside.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Robin inquired firmly.

"We could shut him in the room we created for Raven?" Beast Boy offered.

"I guess we could, but we might not have to go to that extreme. I upgraded since Terra was here, Slade won't be able to get in even with an army of robots and it sounds he's only now showing interest in you is because you fought with us and he doesn't like it," Cyborg stated, even though it was true it still cut him deep to hear that his father only wanted him for selfish reasons.

"It's settled then, you can stay here as long as you want and when you feel safe to go home you can, but I still want you to beef up the security even more Cy, make sure there are no hidden cameras in the building and cut off any unauthorised visuals that Slade might send to coheres Joey into joining him. Also send out messages to all honorary Titans to stay low and safe, we don't want any blackmail." Finally Robin turned to Jericho, "I will do everything in my power to prevent this but I cant always stop terrible things from happening. If you do get captured stay strong and remember that we will save you from Slade! We will not let him win! Okay?"

All the small mute boy could do was nod. Robin's jaw was set in determination, his speech had done well to lift the quiet boy's spirits but he still had a pit of worry in his stomach weighing him down.

It was late morning and the sun shone relentlessly though the large window looking over Jump City. It was so beautiful Joey just had to stand and stare. He had heard stories from Beast Boy and other honorary Titans about Robin's apprenticeship, and it had chilled him to the core to know what his father had done to the boy, he had been only fourteen when it had happened. The one thing that really got him was that the place was a prison. There were no windows to know if it was day or night, Joey couldn't live like that, he lived on a mountain for Pete's sake! He was closest to the sky he was ever going to be.

"Hey Joe, you want us to make you some lunch man? I was just gonna cook the mince for a hamburger, you in?" Cy called over.

"No dude, he might be a vegetarian! You can have a veggie burger if you want Joey." BB countered

Then the war started.

"He eats meat!"

"He's a vegetarian!"

"You're the only one that wants to eat that stuff!"

"No I'm not, he'll like it too!"

The boy sighed and walked over to grab a pad and pen off the counter and stared writing an answer.

 _Please don't yell, I hate it when people get mad because of me. Can I have a veggie burger please? Im not a vegetarian I just feel like one today. Is that okay with you guys?_

"Yeah of cause Joey. Sorry about that, it happens a bit," BB reassured giggling uncomfortably.

Joey sat at the kitchen table looking though the file on his father. One article was about how a mercenary known as Deathstroke had taken over the city's underbelly and at this the crime rate had tripled. Another was about the HIVE Academy's top students were supposedly being hired by Slade and another about the disappearance of Robin and the link to Slade as well as a break in at Wayne Tec Enterprises. Article after article about how Jump was no longer safe because Slade and a girl named Terra had taken over the city by force.

It was disturbing to think that Jericho, the silent pansophist was related to this man, they were like night and day.

"Here you go dude, straight off the grill," the green skinned bot said, spinning the plate so that it slid across the table and stop in front of the sulking boy. "Hey, it'll be okay, you don't have to worry about your dad, we'll stop him together, we have before, ya know."

The blonde boy just nodded and started to eat the burger.

Another hour or two past and Raven appeared at the door of the main room. The two boys were playing video games, they had offered a controller to Joey but he had declined the offer, he was still far too stressed out to enjoy playing games. Raven had felt his anguish as she meditated in her room, it was hard for her to concentrate with such loud emotions raging in the back of her mind.

"Do you with to meditate with me Joseph? It would calm your emotions and quell your stresses." The witch girl offered kindly. "I also feel it would be best for you to move to a more secluded atmosphere," she smiled looking over at the boys fighting over who had cheated to win.

Joey smiled weakly and followed her down a few halls and into her room. He knew at once that this was a place that was rarely open to the public and he felt honoured that she had decided to allow him into her sacred place.

The large room had deep rich purple walls, usually this would make a room dark and depressing but it simply felt warm and safe with the strong sent of incense wafting in the background. The two sat cross legged on the thick purple rug that covered most of the room and closed their eyes.

"I am one of the few who will understand your grief, Joseph, my father is, as you know, the evil demon Trigon. Right from birth my people said that I was born to do my father's bidding, but I proved them all wrong and with the help of my friends I defeated him and sent him back to his own dimension. Together we can do the same with Slade, as long as the Titans stand Slade will never have you!" And with that the boy began to glow with confidence and hope as Raven gently flowed a few centimetres off the ground whispering her incantations.

It didn't feel like long at all before there was a knock at the door, Robin poked his head into the gloomy room.

"Hey Joe, I thought you'd be in here, I can in here a lot after… you know. Anyway, we always go out for pizza on a Sunday you, coming Rae or will Cy have to drag you there?"

"You have broken my concentration so I might as well." She relied frowning jokingly.

At that Raven engulfed herself in a black force and was nowhere to be seen.

At Jericho's Questioning look Robin laughed and explained that she had teleported to the pizza restaurant as she hated being stuck in a car with BB and Cy for any length of time.

Soon they were in the T-car and Joey understand why Raven hadn't wanted to join them.

They all sat down and started chattering away loudly, they had been here so often then none of them needed to even pick a menu so Joey was left to silently decide.

"Hey Titans, what's up?" Their waitress asked, a notepad and pen in hand.

"Hi Maddie, the usual for everyone," Robin said, smiling up at her.

"We aren't all Boy wonders Rob, that's why I have a notepad," she said, rolling her eyes and waved the pad dramatically.

"Okay I get it, one large meat lovers supreme, one large vegetarian, one small sweet and sour chicken and two house specials one with mustard, oh Joey what do you want?" Robin recalled, ticking them off on his gloved fingers as he did so, stopping when he remembered the small blonde boy.

 _A special please but hold the ham._

Robin gave his order and Cyborg cried out loud; "hold the ham! Man that's the best part!"

Joey could only shrug, he didn't really want to share the reason for not having ham, he normally loved ham, but he just didn't feel like it today.

"Okay then. I think I got that, with a soda for all I guess? Hi Joey, watch yourself, those guys get savage when it's pizza time,' the girl grinned wickedly at him pointing at the two across the table who were fighting over meat or tofu.

He smiled back and signed her a thanks.

"He's staying at the tower for a while, family issues," Robin supplied.

"Oh, an honorary Titan, I've heard of those. What are your powers?" Maddie asked excitedly.

Jericho had no way to describe how his powers worked without a lot of hand jesters so he just pointed to his vivid green eyes.

"He can take over your motor functions and control you just by eye contact." Robin explained simply. Joey didn't like how he explain it, the way he said it the powers sounded scary and evil when they could be used for good.

"Cool, different, I like it, anyway, I have to get back to work, bye guys," and with that she was gone.

Fifteen minutes later they were presented with their pizzas, Raven nibbled at her spicy chicken pizza, Robin and Starfire giggled and mysteriously picked blue paint out of their hair and the remaining Titans chowed down as if they hadn't eaten in weeks. As he ate his pizza he regretted asking for no ham. It just stung him too close to home. When he was little and they were one, big, seemingly happy his father had never let them have pizza. He was all about healthy foods, but every once in a while Grant would be so instant on junk food that their father would give up and buy them pizza. They would all have extra ham and cheese just because they could. Joey just didn't want to relive any of those prefect memories with his new family.

Once they had all finished, Robin gave a check to Maddie and they all headed back to the tower.

Joey was content to look out over the city at night as it glowed with a whole spectrum of colours painting the deep blue clouded sky rainbow as cars and people went on with their more carefree lives. At a tap on his shoulder he spun around in an almost defensive stance. Without commenting on his over sensitive movement, Robin handed him a guitar.

"Hope you know how to play a base cause that's all I have, it needs a little tuning but I'm sure it still sounds good. Haven't really had time to play it lately and I know how much you love music, you can use it if you want." He said almost shyly.

The blond boy thanked him and took the guitar, he quickly began to strum the cords and twisting the nobs to find the best sound, after about three minutes he had it tuned perfectly and had started to play a song that he had learnt before he become an honorary Titan.

He felt a little self-conscious as Robin settled down on the couch to hear him play, and then all of a sudden everyone was there to listen to him play, all silently entranced in his sweet music as he moved from song to song effortlessly only wishing he could sing the lyrics that went with them.

After a long time he stopped with no more melodies to play and looked up. Raven was gently floating, meditating to his music, the boys quietly clapped and whooped at his performance and Starfire and Robin were snuggled up to one another gazing softly over the bay to the city they protect.

 _I would like to go to bed now,_ he signed, elbows resting on the bass.

"Yes, Star wanted to show you to your room, she's spent all afternoon on it." The Boy Wonder smiled knowingly, nudging Star awake from her dose.

"Oh yes, come Joey, I have a surprise for you!" she cried leaping into the air and grabbing the boy's hand and dragging him down a few halls, the guitar trailing behind them.

Only when they came to a door marked 'Jericho's Room' did they stop and he put his feet back on the ground tentatively, he pushed open the door flicked on the light and gasped; the carpet was a thick emerald colour that resembled and small field of grass. The walls were painted a pale blue resembling the clear mountain skies, the room was also littered with vases of flowers making the air sweet and homely.

Joey had left his pad and pen in the kitchen so he pointed to her then the room then himself trying ti ask if she had done all for him.

She giggled at his awe of the simple room. "Yes. The carpet was already in here but I and Robin painted it for you." He hugged her tightly in thanks, ecstatic about a room of his own. "We made one like this for Terra when she joined us," She said sadly. "Do not be fearful Joey, even if Slade does capture you, we will not give up hope that you are lost so neither must you. I once feared that Robin had turned against us- against me- but never again shall I think such foolish things for that is when Slade wins."

The boy just nodded in bleak understanding. He was too tried to play shards with her tonight so he simply waved goodbye and closed the door.

8


	2. stolen

**Hello! I hope you like this next chapter, I had to change Deathstroke from the comics because I already said what he was like I and felt like what he did to Robin in my other story _me, myself and Robin_ was leaking his strong moral code that he has in the comics. I won't be bringing in Rose because although I love her to bits she just doesn't work well in here( I might do a story on her later on). because I loved writing Red X I might do a chapter on him later on but for now, enjoy.**

 **OH! before I go Joey knows how to fight but only the basics because although he is a good fighter in the comics he is only 13-16 year old in the TV show so I have limited he skill, he was also trained to take down people with human weaknesses( pressure points and hitting where he knows it will hurt the most this means he wouldn't know how to take down something that doesn't have those weaknesses eg. a robot.)**

 **I don't own Teen Titans.**

The next morning Jericho rolled over and stretched, breathing in the sweet scent of the flowers that littered his bright and sunny room. The sun was shining though the heavy curtains making the room glow a vibrant blue. He climbed out of the oversized bed and pulled the binds open to reveal Jump City and the people in it going about their daily routines.

The tower was silent, eerily so. After getting dressed he grabbed Robin's guitar and the new communicator putting the latter in his uniform pocket. Joey padded barefoot along the warm, silent corridors that were, at this point in time, void of life and into the main lounge/ kitchen area which was also empty.

It had to be at least nine in the morning, at the very least Robin or even Raven, the early birds, should be awake by now. He shrugged off the oddity deciding not to look for them. They were teenagers and therefore they were going to sleep in every once in a while. A horrible thought struck him; what if his father was behind it… No, Raven had told him to keep his emotions in check. He couldn't become paranoid at every small happening around the tower.

All of a sudden the large screen flickered to life in front of him and what he saw made his blood run cold.

"Joey, how nice to see you?" Slade purred. He wasn't wearing a mask but instead a black eyepatch and had snowy white hair that was cut short and neat. "I'm surprised you came all this way just to try and stop me from collecting you, you really just made my life easier."

Jericho stumbled backwards in terror. _No! No! What have you done to my friends? Why can't you leave me alone?_ He fumbled, his hands shaking violently. Cyborg had promised him security, he had been so confident when he said that there was no way for Slade to gain access to the tower's communications technology or get inside without setting off alarms that it put the boy into a false sense of security.

"Oh, Joey you don't have to worry about the Titans. I gave them a short but strong sedative, there's no use trying to wake them up." His dad said smoothly. "Now come quietly. You knew this was going to happen eventually, there's no point in fighting it."

 _Leave me alone, Dad! Please! Mum didn't want me to be with you. I'll just end up dead like Grant. Mum said I had to stay away from you because you're a liar and you don't love me you just want to use me like you use everyone else in your life. You're the one that made me like this!_ With that yanked down the neck of his uniform confronting his dad with the hush reality that he was the reason for his own son's disability.

His father sighed almost sadly "I never meant for that to happen to you Joe, I never wanted it to happen to any of you but danger comes with the job. One day you will understand." He started typing something into the computer in front of him. A masked figure stepped silently out of the shadows. It looked like his father but obviously wasn't as Slade's unmasked face as still hovering on the screen. The Slade android advanced holding a needle containing a clear liquid making Joey back up to the closed doors behind him. He had to get away, he didn't want to fight, to hack, to kill, the very thought of it caused bile to in his throat. Whirling around to face the door and ranched the handle, it wouldn't budge.

He turned back to face the creature that looked so much like his father it truly scared him if he couldn't run he would have to evade it until he had figured out a way to shut it down. He ducked under the robot and ran across the room, he may be small but he was fast. He tried to get into a fighting stance but his feet were too close together and his arms lose. There was no way he could take the thing down with a weak stance like that and he knew it, So in the end all he could do was duck and dive, weaving around the room with a grace of a dancer in a bid to escape the robot.

"Stop running away, Joe, stand and fight"

 _I can't fight that thing; I don't know how._ He confessed

"Then use your brain son, find a way to shut it down."

 _I don't know how!_

He did know how to fight seeing as his mother had taught him the basics to defend himself. When your father is the most sort after mercenary in the world and your mother is the founder and funder of Searchers Inc. you are often a common target for assassins. But even with his basic knowledge of how to being an enemy down he had no idea how disable an emotionless titanium android. He couldn't even use his powers as the bot had no eyes to make contact with.

"Maybe I should have given the Titans a longer lasting sedative." Slade drawled sounding bored with the entertainment.

 _Shut up Dad! Call this thing off!_

He was running out of energy and starting to slow, the robot had crept up behind him as he confronted the unmasked Terminator. A feeling of dread washed over him as he felt a small prick on his arm and looked over to see the robot push the plunger, injecting the contents into his arm. He instantly felt the effects of the injection. The robot caught him just in time as the world went black around him and his body no longer seemed to work.

"Of cause, Joey, anything you want." Slade frowned down at his son curled up and sleeping in the arms of his doppelganger.

Jericho woke up feeling ill from whatever we still in his system in a room that was lit dully from some unknown source, it had violet coloured walls and smelled damp and old. There was a small window on the right side of the room making joey scramble dazedly over to pull the blinds back and see the sun. It could also be a good way to found out where he was. Unfortunately the blinds wouldn't budge no matter how much he pulled at them. There was nothing in the room that made it feel like home, no smell of flowers or any furniture only a bed a small bed side table with nothing on it and a window which would open. Nothing showed any indication of how long he was out, he only hoped that it had only been an hour of two. He walked over to the door and tried the nob, no it was locked too. Dejected he stumbled back to the window to give it another half-hearted tug.

He knew now that he must be in one of the many mansions, pent-houses or apartments that his father kept as safe houses for his work. He had many all over the country and even the world, he bought them with blood money but he had no idea which one or where he was.

The door opened behind him making him jerk around in fear and surprise. Wintergreen strode in holding a tray of food and a bundle of clothes, he placed them down of the bedside table in silence. He was older than Slade but his wrinkles were few and far between and he had short grey unlike Slade's pure white lochs. He also sported a well-trimmed mustache which had had even since Joey could remember. Joey ran over to him, not only had it been years since he had seen the old man but he needed some human contact.

"It's good to see you again Joey, I'm sorry this reunion wasn't under less trying circumstances but you know how your father is." Wintergreen greeted kindly, hugging the destressed boy back.

 _He's not my father; what he did to Robin was terrible!_ He fumbled.

"I'm sorry Joseph I'm learning but you know how hard it is to teach an old dog new tricks, here," he gave the boy a pen and notepad. "If you want to tell me something use this."

 _My Dad is a monster!_ He wrote in big bold letters on the front page.

"Joseph, you need to learn how to forgive your farther. We are all human; we all make mistakes but it's what we learn from them that makes us who we are." Will explained trying to comfort the boy his face twisted in annoyance.

 _He hasn't learnt a thing!_ He wrote.

"Yes well, he's a slow learner" Wintergreen assured with a chuckle.

 _I don't care what he's learnt I don't want to be here and if he had just asked; said that he wanted to make things right, but no, he had to go and kidnap me! He can't just take me way from my home, my friends! He has no right!_ He scrolled his writing shaky with anger. Joey wasn't one to get angry easierly and preferred to be calm and kind but his dad had gone too far this time and he was not happy about this new development.

His father didn't care about Adeline's death. He only saw it as an opportunity to replace Grant. Joe wasn't Grant, his own mother had barely understood his peaceful, artistic nature or his unwillingness to kill or even fight. She didn't understand but she him to play his music and paint because that's what he loved and all she wanted was for him to happy. On the other hand His father only seemed to want him for his own selfish gain.

"Joseph listen, Slade has every right to look after you, he only has your best interest at heart and he believes that you aren't safe with the Titans, you only have to convince him that being with the Titans is safer for you and I'm sure he will let you go back. I must say I would have to agree with him, we can protect you here, you saw yourself how easierly we were able to break into the tower's systems and get you back." Will comforted. "I brought you some clothes I thought you'd like. Your father doesn't want you to wear those clothes anymore."

A light blue t-shirt the same colour as his room in the tower and a pair of white jeans had been layed out for him, it made his eyes burn hotly as he thought back to the tower and all the small happy moments he had collected just the day before.

Will walked over to the door and locked it behind him but not before muttering:

"Slade would like you to be ready in fifteen minutes, Joseph."

The door clicked shut locking him in the cold room, utterly alone.

He slumped down on the bed, curling into a ball franticly wondering what to do next, his father would let him go without a fight and it was nearly impossible to out-smart the man. Should he obey his father or should he rebel against them. He remembered Robin's commanding words back in the tower, to stay strong and never give up on what you believe in, no matter how Slade tries to manipulate you.

He took out the communicator from his uniforms pocket and flipped up the screen. His fingers moved across the buttons to press the small, red E button. Nothing happened. He sat there waiting for at least something to happen. Nothing.

Sadly, he left the device on the bed and picked up the cloths left for him. As he pulled the t-shirt over his head a beeping noise emanated from the communicator. Rushing over he was dismayed to found nothing but a short message stating that he was unable to make contact with the tower because of an electrical disturbance, most likely his father's doing.

Hiding albeit the useless device under the thick grey mattress and began to nibble in a piece of toast, wondering what he should do next, what could he do?

When the door opened a few minutes later Wintergreen stepped in, much to Jericho's relief and he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Your father is waiting for you Joseph, please don't get yourself in trouble, I don't want to start cleaning blood off the floor again," he sighed, stepping away allowing Joey to step though the dooming arch. Realising when Will had said he gasped silently, blood! What had he done to Robin, no wonder he had been so shaken when the blond boy had first brought up his lineage. Would his dad really do that to his own son? Yes, he probably would. He might as well have done it when he was eight for all the loyal he had shown to him.

Jericho walked through the door and down the cold dim corridors that were like a maze and he was sure that without Will he would have been lost. He couldn't ever remember coming here when he was younger so it must be a newer safe house. He tried hard to remember every twist and turn so that later he could come up with a plan of escape. The promise that he would stay strong and rebel was still in the forefront of him mind and he intended on keeping it.

Will opened a door at the end of the corridor and instantly kitchen smells hit him and made his mouth water, Will could cook just as well as he could fight. Slade was sitting at the table in the middle of the room eating an early lunch, he wasn't wearing his mask at a bid to make the boy at ease by all it really did was raise Joey's already dangerously high stress levels.

'Hello my boy, I'm glad you decided to wear those," he gestured to the cloths. "It took Robin some… convincing the wear the clothes I gave him." He was smiling but his eyes were cold and calculating making the smile seem like a huge lie to tried and make Joe trust him. It didn't work, he would never let it work. This man was the man that had lied to his entire family putting them in grave danger like Jackal kidnapping Jericho when he was only eight just to get under the cold man's skin, it didn't work; it would never work.

 _I would like to leave, please,_ he sighed trying to keep his hands from shaking out of fear. _I don't like it here; I want to go home._

"You are home, Joe. With Wintergreen and I, not on that mountain and defiantly not that insipid Titan's tower." His dad said sternly not leaving room for argument on the matter, the conversation was over. Then the man did something that send Jericho's head spinning. His father embraced him in what could only be described as a hug, but it was cold and hard as his face was being squashed by Kevlar and metal armour plate. He squirmed in discomfort trying to get the man to let him go.

 _Let me go! Don't hug me!_ He mouthed unable to use his hands to convey his annoyance as they were stuck to his sides. He looked over at Will who was smiling at the awkward fatherly moment, no doubt it was his idea, he tried to gain eye contact but when their eyes met nothing happened. Wintergreen saw the perplexed look on the boy's face and chuckled.

"I'm sorry Joseph, Slade told me to wear these special contact lenses when you're around so you can't get into my head." He explained, smiling apologetically and pointing to his eyes. Joey just frowned at him feeling hurt and betrayed.

With that his dad released him and he scrambled back, away from both the men. He couldn't make eye contact with either men and was nowhere near as skilled a fighter as his dad.

 _Stay away from me!_ He screamed with his hands.

"Joe calm down now!" Slade commanded in a dangerously voice.

 _I'm not Robin, Dad! I don't want you telling me what to do all the time! You hurt him, tortured him and now he loathes the very mention of your name!_ Joey signed angrily just wanting to get out of here.

"Believe me Joe I never wanted him to loath me I simply wanted him to respect me and work for me of his own free will, he didn't want to do it the easy way so I had to force it out of him. Looking back on the time I regrated that I let my anger get the best of me and when another opportunity to take him back arises, and it will, I will do things differently. I hurt him too much and tried to break him too fast. I only did it because I knew he could take it. I know that you are not up to his level but I only want to train you to the best of your ability, I don't expect you to be as vicious as Grant or as focus as Robin. I only expect you to learn." Slade stated matter-of-factly his hands going to rest behind his back.

Jericho backed away even farther into the kitchen corner. How could his father justify what he had done to the Titan's leader? The blood, the manipulation; he had to get out now.

He ran for the door in a blind panic. He wished he had tried to look for an exit on the way though those long and twisted halls. Unfortunately he didn't have to worry about that for long as before he even got ten feet from the kitchen door he was jerked back by the collar so sharply he feared it would reopen the jagged scar cross his throat.

"You will not run away from me again, Joseph! Do you understand?" his dad hissed into his ear waiting for a response.

 _No! Robin said I shouldn't listen!_ He mouthed, trying to cover his ears.

"Did Robin tell you what I did when he didn't obey me?" the man hissed forcing his arms down so he had to listen. "I forced him to kneel on the ground where I would beat him until he passed out. I would never do that to you but you should behave if you don't want to get hurt. I beat him because he was my apprentice not my son therefore he needed a firm hand to put him in his place, he was too stubborn. We all do thing we'll regret." His father trailed off, sounding like he meant it but that didn't make the situation any less eerie or the blond boy any less scared.

 _Please dad you have to listen to me! I'm not Grant. I can't fight. I wouldn't fight, I only did it because my friend asked me to. I just want to go home!_ Joey signed, tears running down his face in streams. He was frightened by what his father had said and just wanted to go back that Titans tower where it was safe.

"But Joey, you are home," Slade whispered wiping the tears away from his son's cheeks.


	3. past

**Hi again! this chapter steps away from the Jericho storyline and focuses on the Titans namely Robin. there will be a flash back, its from an apprentice AU that I never posted I'm hoping to see your reaction to gage whether or not I should post that story too.**

 **I don't own Teen Titans- though in my dreams I do.**

Robin's eyes snapped open and in one swift movement he leaped out of the comfort of his bed and grabbed a fresh set of uniform headed for the bathroom which was across the hall. He usually would go down to the training arena and train until the other Titans woke up.

He glanced at his clock as he re-entered the room feeling refreshed and clear, and did a double take. 12:27! That had to be a mistake. He was usually up with the sun, getting a few hours work out before he was interrupted be the others. He was only rarely joined by Raven and even then she wouldn't appear straight away.

He walked out into the hall, straining his ears for any sound of movement, nothing. The lounge room was also vacant and was almost exactly how they had left it the night. He checked the clock above the fridge. Yes; 12:28 he hadn't imagined it. What was going on?

He knocked on Starfire's door and waited for a response, a sluggish murmur came from the other side of the door. Star emerged minutes later looking tied but pleased to see him.

"Robin! How wonderful it is to see you- I am sorry if I have slept in- I just feel so tied." She emphasised this fact with a huge yarn, stretching her long orange arms up to the sky making her look like a gorgeous modal.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up Star. It's just this its 12:29 and no one's up yet, even I only just woke up minutes ago. Something about this isn't right. I'm going to wake everyone up to see if they're okay." Robin said worry and confusion etched on his pale masked face.

Star agreed that they should wake the others shocked at how late it was, they had wasted almost the whole day sleeping. Raven then Beast Boy then Cyborg, all still groggy as if they had only just woken up. Finally they reached Joey's room and knocked on the door. No response. Robin worked on the door, manually entering the key code to unlock the door. Seconds later they were in, the three Titans who hadn't seen the room stood in awe at the decorations but Robin only looked at the bed finding it empty. There was no sign of struggle so he had no reason to suspect Slade had kidnapped the honorary Titan but something about this wasn't quite right.

Joey would have woken them up or at least stuck around in the main room. But they had been asleep for an abnormal amount of time and they had not yet run into the small blond boy. Something was wrong and Slade was most likely behind it.

"Okay, that's it we've looked all over the tower I'm go to call Joe's communicator and see if he responds," Cyborg told the group lifting up his arm which was his inbuilt communicator.

"No," Raven cried, grabbing Cy's arm. "What if he is with Slade right now? Slade will know Joseph can contact us and will take his only means of communication away from the boy leaving him with nothing to give him hope. We must try ad contact him tonight when we know he is alone."

"Can't you try and sense him with your soul-self Rae? I mean they can't have gone far- can they?" BB asked sounding unsure.

"I could try, but I fear he is too far away for me to reach him," with that she folding her legs underneath herself and starting humming her incantation as she floated above the ground.

She sat in this precision for only a few minutes when she allowed her feet to touch the ground again. All of the Titans looked up expectantly hoping for good news, but she simply shock her head.

"I am sorry, I searched the entire city but was unable to found the slightest trace of his emotions, it is almost as if something is blocking them from me. There is a chance that Slade has found a way to block my powers but I could not find it."

"I believe we need to make sure it is Slade behind this. Jericho might just have gone for a walk." Star offered hopefully.

Robin only shook his head knowing in his heart that the masked mad-man was behind this and although he wanted to believe it was a lesser villain such as Mad Mod he couldn't shake the feeling their mute friend was in true danger.

"No Star it must have been him, we know Slade wanted Joe, he knows he shouldn't leave the tower without protection and there has to be a reason why we all woke up unusually late, he must have drugged us. It just has to be him, there's too much evidence to deny it."

"Well then what are we going to do to get him back?" Beast Boy asked, stepping forward. "Jericho wouldn't hurt a fly, he couldn't; Slade'll do something terrible when he refuses to become the dude's apprentice."

Upon hearing this all the blood drained out of Robin's face. He hadn't even thought about that, would Slade really do that to his own son? Was he that much of a monster? He might, if he was able to do it to Robin what's to stop him from doing it to Joe as well. Oh, God! And Robin had told him he had to stay defiant and not do what his father told him to. What if Joey gets hurt because of him? The boy clearly didn't have the physical nor mental strength to take repetitive beatings from a man he should be able to love, trust and respect.

"We have to find him now! We'll split up and search every known haunt in the city," he said as he pulled up a map of the city on the large screen. Scattered at various points on the map were four sharp, stylised S's that made Robin sick to his stomach. "We will have to split up into two groups and take two haunts each. Star you go with Cy and BB to Pier 41 and the old abandoned church north of Jump and Rae and I will go to the Clock Tower and the haunt on the east side of town in Little Tokyo. If you see any kind of trouble, pull out and call for back up, don't want anyone getting hurt, okay?" he turned to see all the Titans looking at him worriedly. "What?"

"Well Rob it just that…" Cyborg began curiously.

"Do you think it is wise to…?" Raven tried.

"Robin it is okay if…" Starfire assured.

"Dude, why do you want to go back to the place where Slade beat the crap out of you?" Beast Boy asked, dumbfounded. They all glared at him for his insensitivity. Robin flinched.

"I'll be fine guys. I have to face the past at some point," Robin stated awkwardly, trying to convince himself and failing.

"You don't have to be alone friend Robin, maybe we could all-."

"No!" He screamed, he saw the effect on his girlfriend, who shied away from him looking almost fearful, and reached a hand out to comfort her. "I'm sorry Star, I didn't mean to say it like that, it's just that I won't be alone; I'll have Rae to help me. I need to put some ghosts to rest."

"Why do the dead need to sleep?"

"It's just a saying Star, it means I need to move on from what happened last year. I can't forgive and forget but I can accept that it happened and I can't change that." Everyone just stood and stared at him like he had sprouted wings.

Raven was the first to compose her features.

"The purity of your soul despite the torments of your past constantly astonishes me, I fear it is to your own destruction that you offer your heart to the harrowing lifestyle of crime fighting." She turned to address the rest of the team who by now had snapped out of their trance and focused their attention on the empath. "But now we must set our minds to the task at hand and find Joseph for I fear that although he has a pure, peaceful soul he does not possess the willpower that helped Robin though his apprenticeship."

"Yeah… yes! Titans split up and use the coordinates in your communicators. If you see Slade or anything else call for back up, you all know that no one Titan can defeat him alone. Titans Go!"

With the final command Cyborg, Beast Boy raced for the underground garage to take the T-car. Star stepped forward and embraced him in a soft, warm hug.

"Stay safe my friend, I cannot bare to lose you like last time." She whispered squeezing him almost too tightly to breath. She turned and vanished down the hall after the boys, Robin just stood there, stunned.

"We must go Robin. Are you ready?" Raven asked coming to stand beside him. He gave a small nod.

He was suddenly engulfed in black coolness and in less than a second he had been teleported across town and was standing in front of the entrance of the haunt that for a year had been a constant in his nightmares, with Raven at his side.

He clenched his hands into fist to try and stop them from shaking violent. Goosebumps had risen on his arms and neck. He was shivering but at the same time sweating.

"Robin I feel your distress, if you don't want to do this I can call the others and they can-"

"No. I have to do this! What if there in a clue to finding Joe here? I can't just… I can't let him suffer because I'm afraid. I have to do this." He yelled kicking the steel door in as if was just ply wood.

Robin hurried down the stairs that led to the labyrinth below not even bothering to look upwards towards the throne room which was a mess after their last two visits here. It would still be littered with mountainous pails of rusted cogs and twisted bits of metal. There would be glass covering the floor like dust from five screens that no longer mounted the wall. There would be putrid orange light shiny through the tiny skylights making the room glow hotly in fake fiery light.

They travelled down into the dark depths of the clock tower in silence with only each other for comfort. They journeyed like this for minutes until Robin came to a large steel door shut tight with a large rusted bolt. It took all their efforts to slide the bolt across and push on the door, forcing it to swing open with a ghostly creek.

The room that had been his for the worst two months of his life was pitch black and cold. He pulled out a small torch from his canary yellow belt and flicked it on, shining the white light around the small dank cell. He could hear Raven's sharp intake of breath as the torchlight eliminated the blood splattered walls and the small lines which had been etched into the wood of the bed frame, sixty-four lines in all. If his capture had noticed the markings he never said anything about them, most likely he thought that Robin would soon give up hope anyway and that he was just lying to himself if he thought he could escape. They stepped in and Robin realised just how empty the cell truly was, he was lucky he had been given a bed to sleep in. there was a thick layer of dust that lay undisturbed over everything meaning Slade hadn't come into this room for a long time, maybe even a year.

"This was where you stayed." It wasn't a question it was a statement.

"Yeah…this was where I was safe until he decided he didn't care where he beat me and then it didn't matter where I was or what time it was." He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal but he knew that Raven saw though his mock cool demeanour. "Okay, it hurt, it really hurt. When I got beaten for any small mistake that I didn't mean to make and when I defied him, it just made everything worse. I almost thought I was never going to live a life of my own. That there hallways, this room, was going to be my home forever. That I would become him, that if I put on that mask no one could tell who I really was anymore, not even me. It scared me Raven I had no way of knowing if you even cared." Robin said sounding strangled.

" _No. I will never do what you say. I won't be the obedient little apprentice you want me to be. So go ahead, break my arm, beat me down because I won't be something I'm not, especially if you want to force me into it._

" _So I'm the one that's going to give you the chose, Slade, either you let me go or you keep me prisoner here as your personal punching bag, and let my friends go because I won't comply with your sick plans."_

 _With an effortless flick of his wrists he shattered my arm. I tried, I really tried not to scream, not to give him the satisfaction that he had coursed me agony, as searing hot pain shot up my arm in endless pulsations, but there seemed to be no beginning or end to the white, hot pain. My legs grew weak and my body collapsed onto the cold steel floor. I silently begged for the blackness at the corners of me vision to engulf my mind, but he would not allow that._

 _Pulling me back to my feet he backhands me and leans in close so that I can feel his hot breath on my ear._

" _How dare you think you have any right to your life now you insolent little brat, you gave up your life to me. Don't forget that I can kill your former friends at the push of a button." His voice was icy cold and sent a cold drop of fear to run down my spine. "You will do what I tell you to do or you will be in even more pain. I will not have insubordination, apprentice."_

" _No, no, please, make it stop!" I screamed through gritted teeth clutching at my left arm, which was bent in an unnatural precision I could even see a small shard of bone breaking though the skin._

 _He responded with a punch to the stomach which coursed me double over in pain, gasping for air._

" _You don't give me orders. You deserve this pain, Robin, you deserve it because you have been disobedient and disrespectful towards your master." Slade snarled, grabbing me by the front of my shirt._

" _You're not my master, I have no master." I muttered weakly._

" _What was that, Robin? I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that, you'll have to speak up, apprentice," he whispered dangerously into my ear. He grabbed my still hurriedly arching arm and put what must have been a small amount of pressure but still through me back into a white hot pit of agony coursing me to scream and writhe in his relentless grip._

 _At the corners of me vision I could see Wintergreen stride in with a medical kit, just as he always did, always too late for me to be saved from extra pain. He glared once at Slade and then proceeded to set a plaster to my arm as I whimpered forlornly. This is how it had been for the past four weeks, granted this was the first time he had broken my arm out right. I would defy him; I would get beaten into the dust; Wintergreen would come in and dress my 'self-endued' wounds and I would be sent back to my 'room'._

" _Don't give him a sedative, he doesn't deserve it." Slade informed Wintergreen as if it happened every day, which it almost did._

" _Slade, the child is in pain, if you want him to heal from the wound that, may I remind you, is your doing, I will have to give him a sedative to help him sleep, otherwise you will not have an apprentice for the next two months." Wintergreen said in an almost tried voice as if he had seen and heard too much suffering in his life and he didn't want to see more done to a child._

" _Alright, just one shot of it, I don't want him to be too reliant on it and he really doesn't deserve it after the disrespect he has shown me today. Give him just enough to stop the pain until the morning." Then he turned his attention to me and I flinched instinctively away from him as if he was about to kick me. "Even though you are injured I expect you to be up early and ready for train although the physical side of your training will have to be postponed indefinitely because of your stupid mistake."_

 _I wanted to snap back at him but I decided I was in enough pain for one day. I felt the prick of a needle breaking the skin on my arm but I didn't flinch as I was still experiencing pain ten times worse than a simple shot._

" _I am waiting, apprentice, what do you have to say?" Slade inquired his voice almost sweet, if you could ever describe the devil's voice as sweet._

" _Yes Master, I'm sorry for what I said, I'll do better, just please don't hurt my friends." I murmured weakly, my voice still hoarse from the constant screaming in pain._

" _Robin, we have talked about this, you don't have any friends. Now go to bed, I don't want to deal with you anymore tonight."_

" _Yes, Master"_

 _I turned to leave but my legs were too weak, they were already feeling the effects of the sedative and they collapsed beneath me. The sudden jolt to my arm made me cry out in pain. Slade stepped forward wordlessly and scooped me up effortlessly as if I was nothing. I am nothing, Slade told me so._

He collapsed to the floor his legs were no longer able to support him as they shock violently with stress. A cloud of dust rose from the ground and swirled around the room only to settle not far from where they had come. He had known that coming back would open old wounds and allow fresh blood to spill over the old, that he would have to show Raven the things that he never wanted to present. That, in part, was why he hadn't asked Starfire to be with him in their search, he didn't want to worry her about his past. She already fawned over him enough whenever Slade's name was brought up in conversation thinking that he would have some sort of panic attack or something. He had learnt long ago to suppress the overwhelming sense of fear, hopelessness and claustrophobia. But Raven knew better she was the one person who could understand what he was feeling and reframe from asking questions that would just aggravate the situation. She would not question his felling because she was feeling them too.

"Robin we never stopped believing it was you. You had the strength to use this time to make you stronger, wiser. Our experiences make us who we are, they make us stronger. We have grown. We must use this growth to get Jericho back safely. But for now you must release your emotions to gain more strength and wisdom to defeat Slade again and stop the cycle from being repeated."

For the next hour they simply sat there in the cell; to comfort, to cry, to release. The silence was only broken by the happy beeping of Robin's communicator. The caller ID said that it was Star, Robin didn't feel like being asked why he looked sounded like he had been crying so he past the device to Raven for her to asked.

"Starfire, I am here what do you have to report." Raven asked robotically.

" _Where is Robin? Is he okay?"_ Starfire's worried voice emanated from the communicator.

"No, he is fine, he is just… preoccupied at this time." Raven assured kindly.

" _Oh, okay, we have finished our search of both Pier 41 and the place of Terra's rest. Cyborg and I are on our way back to the tower to search from there."_

"Why isn't Beast Boy with you?" Raven almost yelled at Star but Robin could hear the fear for the green boy in her voice.

" _He has elected to stay behind and mourn for Terra."_ Star said sounding confronted from Raven's outburst.

"Yes…well… as long as he is save."

"How are you and Robin doing with the search? How you found anything that could help us locate Jericho?"

"Not yet. We will notify you if we find anything. Raven out." She disconnected the call and turn to face Robin.

"I'm ready. We should start looking around for clues to where any other hind outs are- he might have forgotten to erase information form from the hard drive before he died." It was a longshot but he knew he had to look under every rock until he found the man. There was no way in hell Robin was going to let Slade hurt another Titan, honorary or not Joey was still part of the team and deserved their support and protection even if it was from his own father. Robin had to stop thinking about his own past and mistakes and set his mind to the task at hand: returning Jericho home.


	4. unwilling

They were standing in a large training room the size of a school gymnasium with a bunch of different training and exercise equipment, a running track and curiously a set of parallel bars. His dad walked forward to the centre of the running track and stopped waiting for his son to catch up. Joey quickly followed him not wanting to be scolded for disobedience.

When he was standing e few feet away from his dad, Slade throw him a bo-staff expecting the boy had quick enough reflexes to catch the pole before it hit him. The metal pole hit Joe in the face and fell to the floor with a loud clang that made Joey flinch away from the noise. He cried out silently in pain holding his bruised forehead.

"Oh, come on Joe! You knew I was passing you the staff so why weren't you ready for it? I'm sure it didn't hurt that badly, you're being sensitive. It's just pain." His father stated matter-a-factly, rolling his eye at his son's poor display of ability. "Let's try this again shell we? Pick up the staff." He commanded harshly.

 _Dad I can't fight. You're only going to beat me up. Mum only taught me how to fight the defend myself - not to attack back! You've got to listen to me Dad, I don't want to learn._ Joe pledged to his father to listen.

"Joey," Slade said in a warning tone, "don't try me. Just pick up the damn staff and get into a fighting stance or no food for three days."

Three days? Joey would be starving by then and weak from lack of nutrition. He had to pick his battles wisely for he was going to have to get through this. After he had run out of the kitchen he had not been allowed back in meaning he hadn't had any food since the night before and even then it had only been pizza. He knew he would struggle to fight back or attempt to escape after three days of not eating, so despite his better judgement he be grudgingly picked up he fallen stick and held it in front of him as a shield.

In a split second his father leapt forward with his own bo-staff, knocking the stick out of the boy's hands and across the room, with a final flick of his wrist the man slammed the staff into the boy's ribs.

Joey fell to the ground, silent tears burning his eyes as he hugged his sides in an attempt to make the pain go away. It felt like his dad had broken a rib. His mum had never hit him that hard when she had trained him and he wasn't used to experiencing this much pain at once.

"What did you do wrong?" A cold voice above him asked.

 _I didn't do anything wrong!_ He screamed silently, his teeth still gritted in pain.

"Joseph, get up! What did you do wrong?" His voice was low and dangerous now as if he was warning Joey what would happen if he didn't comply.

Slowly he rolled to his knees and stood up still hugging his sides.

 _My leg weren't far enough apart to take the blow and I wasn't ready to be beaten up yet_. Despite the jab at his training style the man made no comment on it.

"Good boy. The best way to learn and become better is to know your faults so that you can manipulate them to improve your personal skill. Now let's try that again shell we?" It wasn't a question. He would do whatever he wanted whether Joe agreed to go along with it or not, the boy had no real say in the matter, in any matter really, his father had made sure of that.

He allowed Joey to regain a better stance holding the staff in a firmer grip that protected his chest and neck. His dad run at him silently, pulling his own weapon up to strike but just before his hit made contact with the boy's head Joey used his bo-staff to shield the attack. They stood there for a second, Jericho trying in vain to push at on-coming staff so that he could make a counter-attack to knock his enemy down, but his opponent was too strong and although he put his entire weight against the push his father only lazily held his staff as if there was nothing pushing against it. Knowing that using his minimal strength would be useless he ducked under the blow letting his father follow through with his attack and slid through his legs popping up to face his dad's back ready for another attack.

"Very good Joe, you're learning fast. I told you that you would learn in time."

Joey at that point in time felt manipulated, he hadn't wanted to fight but his father had made him with threats and purposefully inflicting pain to get the boy to try harder not to go through that again. This must have been what it was like for Robin, he didn't want to submit but he didn't want to go through the pain of not submitting. In that moment he allowed himself to feel sorry for himself, at least Robin had escaped, he was back with his friends, the ones he loved and Jericho was here, slowly losing who he was and what made him, him.

 _I don't want to be here anymore I don't like it here, this isn't me, I don't fight, I play music and paint!_ He blurted, panicked, what if he never found a way to escape, what if the Titans were never able to find him and he was stuck he for the rest of his life. Without music, without art, without contact.

"How about we talk about this later Joe, over dinner. Right now we are making progress and I don't want to stop that just so you can complain." His dad sighed. "Now. Again."

It continued like this for another couple of hours. After that they were forced to stop as Joey was completely exhorted by the work, his mother had never pushed him that hard and the Titans hadn't really trained with him. As soon as his father said stop the boy collapsed to the floor unable to stay on his feet let alone fight or defend himself from an attack.

"Good work today, you have improved immensely I'm proud of what we achieved here today. I'll give you some time to yourself, Joe, the bathroom is down the hall to your right, if you need anything Wintergreen will give you anything you want." His dad said warmly smiling down proudly at his son.

Joey didn't want the praise. He didn't want to be good at a thing that could be used to hurt people. He hated it when people were sad or in pain and he certainly didn't want to be the cause of it.

Joey stepped into the kitchen, it was Wintergreen's night to cook and the room was filled with the smell of herbs and spices. Although the men took it in turns to cook the meals, Wintergreen was by far the better cook and seemed to enjoy it more than his father.

He sat down and the kitchen bench and silently watched the man as he bustled around the kitchen, chopping up vegetables and tossing meat around a pan to make sure it didn't burn. Joey's body ached all over and his head constantly lolled down onto his chest because he couldn't even stay awake. His father had worked him way too hard for far too long and it made his arms feel like jelly.

"After dinner you can go straight to bed if you want," Wil said noticing his fatigue.

 _Will, do you still have my guitar?_ he asked sleepily, yarning.

"Yes Joseph, but I have been told that it is a reward for good behaviour. You will have to earn it if you want to play it and I fear you're not quite there yet."

 _Why? What am I supposed to do in my free? You can't just take away my things. I haven't done anything wrong!_ He wrote in big bold letters on a fresh page of his notepad which had been lying on the bench for him to use.

"On the contrary, you have done many things that I would perceive as _wrong._ You joined the Teen Titans when you should have been taking them down, you sided with them against your own father. Instead of coming to me when your mother died you ran away to some secluded mountain top, and you think you've done nothing wrong." His dad scoffed as he strided into the kitchen.

 _No. I'm not Grant, I'm not Robin. I only fight if I have to. I'm not a soldier. I don't take orders well. I didn't come and find you because I needed time alone, I need time to mourn mum. You would have told me to suck it up and force me to train until I forgot who she was. Who I was. I'm glad Beast Boy found me on that mountain, they're my friends now and I would do anything for them and I think they feel the same about me. Even knowing the true they didn't give up on me, they tried to help me._ He signed, his arms aching from the workout.

"Joe, don't argue with me," his voice was quiet, a clear sign that he wasn't in the mood for the boy. "You will not be getting you guitar."

Joey stayed silent. He didn't want to get hit by his father, he knew that look all too well and although he had never been on the receiving end of what came next he had seen the proof from his brother.

He had rarely talked to Grant especially after he left Joey and his mother to become a mercenary just like his father. Grant had never been very likable. His elder brother had always been too busy training to become a killer. If he found Joey crying he would sit on the boy and yell about how much of a wuss he was and that dad hated him for it. Joey knew they were both only kids at the time but he still believed Grant's heartless proclamation.

 _Well, then, can I go outside?_

"No Joey, not unless you've gained my trust and sworn your loyalty to me."

 _I, Joseph Wilson, swear to serve you. Can I go outside now?_ He wrote.

Will chucked loudly from the stove, he had turned to read the note and gone back to stirring the pot of spicy smelling sauce.

"He has a point Slade, you can't just lock him up until he caves. He's not like Robin, he can't and wouldn't run away."

Joey frowned sadly, although he would like to prove the old man wrong, it was true that he wasn't a fast runner and he had no idea where he was and knowing his dad he probably wasn't even in the country anymore.

"Okay but not tonight Joe" was the response signalling that the conversation had ended.

 _When can I go back to the Titans? They're probably worried about me._

"You're only a boy Joe, you're too young to be living on your own-" Slade began, Joey could feel the lecture coming and didn't want to hear it.

 _But I won't be on my own!_

"I will let you leave when you are old enough and have enough training to defend yourself which right now seems to be in the very distant future and you will not be going back to that infernal tower."

 _But I'm really trying and you can't stop me from being with the Titans. You aren't choose my friends for me! You have no right!_

"I can and I will. I don't want you spending your time with them, they're squandering your abilities and wasting you potential." He looked down at the boy and on noticing the forlorn expression on his face Slade sighed. "I know it's hard for you to understand but I'm doing what's best for you, your just kid with no way to protect yourself, I know that it seems like I just don't want you to be with the Titans because they oppose me but it's because they have no training and frequently get themselves into a situation where they are in danger and can even come close to death." He explained in a soft voice.

"Excuse me, sorry to break up this lovely bonding time you two have been have," Wintergreen huffed loudly catching both father and son's attention and earning a fearsome glare from Slade that could, in his opinion, curdle milk. "Oh don't give me that look Slade, I don't think you have ever talked to each other this much in your entire life and all you can do is fight and yell at each other. Anyway dinner is ready so I would appreciate it if you move this argument into the dining room so I can at least sit down and try to enjoy my meal."

Grudgingly, Slade and Joey picked up their plates piled with food and headed into the next room. Slade sat next to Wintergreen while Joey was left to sit opposite them both. They sat in silence for a few minutes taking slow, deliberate bits from their food and glaring at each other coldly. Wintergreen ignored the silent battle that was raging on over the table.

 _So then why I am with you? Your line of work is far more dangerous than that of a hero's, ever since I became a hero I haven't been dragged away in the middle of the night by a man who threatens to cut my throat with a knife_. He signed angrily tugging down the high necked top to show his father why he could no longer scream at him. _Why do you want me to be part of your life when your only putting me in more danger then I have ever been in? I don't want to be your apprentice. I want to stay out of your life, so why can't you stay out of mine?_

Slade sat down heavily with a loud sigh, it had only been a few hours and he was ready rethinking this, he just wanted to protect his last remaining son but he had no idea how. He had never taken the time to sit down with Joey and talk. Talk about stupid kid stuff like what he did at school that day or even what he like doing in his free time, he had a vague idea of what his son's interests were but he had never supported the boy in what he did, Slade was always out with Grant teaching him how to shot a gun or showing him a new fighting move.

Slade remembered that the first time he had taken his youngest son out to show him how to shot he had cried, crushing him small pink face into his mother's legs to try and muffle the sound of the clay pigeons as they exploded. Grant had laughed at his brother calling him a baby.

Even Slade had to admit he was very disappointed at his son's reaction to something as simple as a gun firing, granted he had only been seven at the time, but he had begun training Grant at that age and he had been thrilled to learn how to aim and fire a gun.

Looking at the two boys Slade could see that although Robin was a lot like Grant in the way he fought and behaved he was more like Joe as he was emotionally weak and was blinded by the way the world should be instead of how the world really is.

He didn't want the boy to become a mercenary. That was what had gotten Grant killed. He was too young to go into this business alone. He didn't want the boy to be robbed of his innocence at such a young age. That was the real reason why he had chosen Robin as his apprentice and not his own son. Robin had already begin robbed of his childhood when he saw his parents plummet to their deaths and when he was force to choose between the Mayor of Gotham and Batman, the boy had made a terrible error and he was the reason for the Mayor's death. The villains that roamed Gotham and stalked his former mentor had beaten him down, crushed him until he was prefect for Slade to meld into the prefect apprentice.

"No Joe, it not like that at all, that would never be the reason why I brought you here. I don't want you to be my apprentice, it's too dangerous, not even Grant could survive in this line of work, but my most deadly enemies know that I have a family, that I have you. They would to see me suffer and they know that the only way for them to make me suffer is to hurt the people I love, the people who are closest to me. They already took Adeline from me. I don't want them to take anyone else that I love.

"I just want you to be safe, to live a life away from the dangers of being a hero or a mercenary and to be able to protect yourself. I know you have never wanted to fight, to learn how to hurt others but that's what I want you to do, just for the time being until I find a better way for you to protect yourself." Slade tried to explain, trying so hard to make his son understand why he needed him here where he knew where joey was, where he could train him to fight and defend.

 _You can't wrap me in bubble wrap forever Dad!_

"My dear boy, when have I ever tried to do that?"

Joey sat there for minutes mulling over his option. He didn't have any; train willingly or train unwillingly. He knew that although his father was being kind to him now he was almost at the end of the man's patience and he didn't want to be around when his father snapped. With a great sigh of defeat he began to sign:

 _Okay, okay, I get it, you don't really care if I don't want to be here anyway. I'll do whatever Dad, but you can't talk me who I can and can't be friends with after this is over. I don't want to trust you, I don't want to know you and I don't want to learn from you but that's the only option I have. The Tians said they would find me; that they would save me from you, I trust them; they are my real family. I will learn from you but I can't promise that I will ever use what you want to teach me because I won't. I don't want to be the bad guy, mum said that me gift needs to be put to good use so that's what I want to do, I want to help people, to be a hero; but for the time being I'm willing to be trained._


	5. bad ideas

**Hello all! some people said they loved my story and it made me soooo happy, thank you.**

 **Also just to let you know, this is a Red X story, yay, its not long but I hope you like it. there will be swearing. I hope you don't get made about who Red X is under the mask.**

 **I actually do a lot of research for each chapter and I'm actually learning Sign Language. I reread all the moments where Jericho uses his powers(all that I could find) and I read all I could find of Joshua(a character from the original Teen Titans series), Jason Todd and Grant Wilson(goddamn raise your hand if you've read Grant Wilson and get up to where he dies and laughs, I hate him, he's the one that screwed up his relationship and he blames it on the Titans- just my opinion) and I went with the person which I thought was best for this storyline(now I have a reason for him being too OOC) So yeah overall a lot of my comic books are being reread just for a fanfic, hahaha.**

 **I've also been asked to add more hugs- they will come... I hope.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or DC Comics cause if I did I would ask Marv Wolfman to write more and there would be a 6th season of Teen Titans.**

I couldn't care less whether he knew that I was here or that he knew what I was planning doing, I wanted him to be on edge, easier for me to push him off that way. I didn't care how dangerous it was to break into the house of the 'World's Most Deadly Mercenary'. Scratch that it was more like a mansion than a house, three stories high and endless. _God, killing sure does pay well._ I shook my head _, I can steal whatever the hell I wanted when that bastard is dead._

Pressing the X on my belt buckle I could feel the red energy pulsate through my suit. I loved the sensation, it made me feel so full of energy I could do anything I wanted.

I reappeared outside of what the blueprints of this place assured me was the damn training room I could only hope to god that I hadn't been doped. Fortunately I could hear the scum going on about something. _I swear to god that man only talking because he loves the sound of his only voice._ He sounded so proud like he had no remorse for what he did to Robin. _Oh well, I will have no remorse in killing him._

Slade was talking to someone but I couldn't hear anyone with him, it could be that he just practicing his 'evil mastermind' personal in a mirror but I doubted it, even so he sounded like he was teaching someone asking questions that were only answered by silence. I stood a slow, quiet step towards the door hoping I still had the element of 'what the fuck are you doing here?' The one-sided conversation stopped immediately. _Shit_

"Whoever you are come in now!" Slade's cold commanding voice seeped through the cracks in the door.

I ran up to the door planting a foot in it, causing it to fly open with a loud bang. _Never let it be said that I don't know how to make an entrance._

"Oh, it's just you X, you didn't have to do that you know, it was unlock," he said in a bored kind of voice, looking over my shoulder at the door which was still swinging on it's hinges.

He wasn't wearing his mask and he wasn't wearing armour _. Good, it'll be so much easier with Kevlar out of the way._ Next to him was a small boy who looked terrified. _He is disgusting. So he couldn't get Robin back he just_ had _to go after a smaller, weaker boy to hurt._ He had golden blonde hair that curled around his face like a cherub, he refused to let my eyes catch his but they were sea green. The boy was so small too small and innocent to be here with that sick bastard.

"Don't worry kid, I'm just here for Slade and once I'm done with him I can take you to the Titans, they will take you home." I said, trying to comfort kid who had backed away from both of us and begun shaking his head frantically in the corner. _What was his problem?_

"You're here to kill me? Have you decided to be a hero now, X?" Slade sneered coldly, grabbing the boy and dragging the boy back beside him.

"I'm not a hero but I won't stand by while sickos like you go around kidnapping little boys to do your dirty work." I yelled jabbing a finger at the blonde boy who only cringed even farther away.

"Yes well, rumours do circulate. But where do you stand? Why do you even care, you have made it clear that you only look out for… how did you put it? Number one?" _God that manipulative bastard!_

"It's none of your business! Now shut up and die!" I screamed, _yes it was a little over dramatic but I was a little more than pissed at that point, he deserved everything that was coming to him._ I leaped forwards allowing the X's on the backs of my hands extend into long razorblade-like weapons. "You tortured him! You destroyed him! You sick twisted asshole!"

"Oh, I see, this is about what I did to Robin?" he asked, dodging my swings as if there was no danger of him getting hurt. _Over-confident fucker._

"I wouldn't give a shit who you did it to, I would feel the same way, but should have never done that to Robin and the fact that you didn't just stop with him, you had to go on and steal another kid who is defenceless against you, you disgusting piece of shit." I cried, swinging blindly.

"Language boy," Slade hissed.

I snarled in response, leaping in and out, teleporting around the man to land some hits but he was too quick and I was unable to land a good blow.

"Just die!" The frustration was clear in my voice as I lashed out more erratically.

Slade's hand snaked out of nowhere and latched on my cape before I could teleport away. _Shit._ He pulled me close and I could feel his hot breath on my mask.

"I'll take that," he growled ripping the belt away from me but I could only offer a weak cry of protest. "Now, how did you find me?"

"What is this? Interrogations? Is the kid going to play good cop?" I snickered, still struggling. The kid hadn't said a word the whole time I had been here, he just stood there dumbly looking like he was about to pee his pants. _Where the hell did Slade pick this kid up?_

"There will be no good cop. Tell me how you knew we were here or I will break every single bone in your arms. No more Red X." He was pissed now, I wasn't quite sure why, yeah I came here to kill him but he was acting a bit over the top with it all, I had seen him in action before and he never showed this much emotion in a fight, I guess I much have caught him on a bad day or something.

"Okay, okay, you make a compelling argument, you don't have to go that far." _What? Don't judge me, my arms are important to me. I don't think I could go on living without them, they're part of me._ "I bailed up your real estate agent who quickly told me everything I needed to know about where you were. Don't worry I didn't tell him way I needed this information."

"Dammit Johnson why couldn't you keep your bloody mouth shut?" Slade muttered under his breath.

The kid suddenly rushed over to Slade grabbing his thick arm and clinging to it to get the man's attention. He began to flail his arms around dramatically. _Sign language? Well that explained a lot like why he hadn't said a damn word to anyone the entire time I've been here._

"No Joe, I won't kill him, not yet, I need him alive."

I didn't know if he was taking about me or his poor real estate agent but the way that he was reassuring the frightened boy was almost parental. _Yes, try and imagine that; a parental Deathstroke. Creepy right?_ Well I guess he did try that family man persona for a while. _Eww, who would want to have kids with this guy?_

He turned his attention back to me.

"I can't die you know." He sounded so goddamn matter-a-fact like we were having this conversation over a three course meal or something.

"I know you have healing factor but I figure if I cut your head off it won't grow back. I'll give it to the Titans to prove you're died and maybe keep your last eye to put on my wall." He gave me this look that said; 'I'm surprised you have a wall.'

"You'll give Robin my head along with your undying love?" He finally said with a smirk that twisted his mouth into an ugly misshapen line.

"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about asshole!" I screamed.

"I don't think you're in the position to insult me, X"

"Shut up you manipulative-"

"I don't think you want to finish that sentence. You are at my mercy, you have foolishly told me your plans and no one even knows you're here, I don't even think Robin will notice if he never even sees you again."

"No! He'll notice!"

Whatever helps you sleep at night, but what I really want to know is, who is under that mask? No one else is wearing a mask here so why don't I just…" He purred, reaching up to grab the seam of my mask.

"No!" I yelled, pulling wildly to try and make him let me go, I didn't want him to see my face, I didn't want him to tell Robin what he knows about me. I couldn't take the risk that he will tell.

Effortlessly he tugged the black cloth over my head. My face prickled with the cold sensation of air. _When was the last time I took off the mask?_ Slade stared down at me with a smirk. He knew who I was, I could tell.

"I thought it might be you but I couldn't be sure. I was given a contract to kill your mother a few years ago, but I couldn't do it, the clown beat me to it." He said, _was he just saying that to give me extra proof that he knows who I am?_ "And of course you're fighting style just screams of who taught you, you're almost better than both of them now, I'm sure that in a fight you could hold your own. But then again you are too over-confident, thinking that you could sneak in here and attempt to kill me is actually amusing."

"If you're going to kill me just do it, I hate foreplay."

Slade laughed. _Yes he actually laughed_. That was the scariest thing I've heard all day and was standing in front of the man that could snap my neck with a flick of his wrist, I had no leverage either. _Shit I was in it deep now._ He let go of my arms and stepped back and ran a hand through his white hair like he was thinking about what he was going to do next, mulling over how or if to even kill me at all.

"Not today X, not in front of my son, I want him to trust me, not hate me." _Wait rewind just a second there Termi. The cute little kid who's scared of his own shadow is your son? What the fuck? Have you already kill me and I'm in some weird reality were the terminator's son is a scaredy cat? I mean I knew he had a son, two sons really and an ex and all but I thought they would all follow in their dear old daddy's footsteps._

It took me a minute to mull this over in my mind then I realised my mouth was dragging on the ground and quickly snapped it shut. _Shit._ He was smirking down at me like he could read my damn mind and knew how shocked I was at the lack of family resemblance.

"Joey come over here for a minute." Slade ordered, holding his hand out towards the boy like some scared animal. The boy, Joey, stepped forwards indignantly and came to stand a metre away from the both of us. Glaring at his dad with a glare that could cut glass, his eyes were so green… they were a vibrant sea green colour that looked like they could glow in the dark. He was trying to gain eye contact with his father but Slade refused to look his son in the eyes. "Not now, Joe, just do it!"

 _Okay, now I'm lost. I have no idea what the hell is going on or what the hell that kid can do. I should get out of here, regroup and come back with more stealth like when he's sleeping or something. Does Deathstroke even sleep_? "Um, so if you guys are cool with it I'll just err, take my stuff and leave." I said reaching for my belt which had fallen not far away.

"Oh, I think it's far too late for you to just teleport away, X, you see, I can't have you running to the Titans and telling them what I'm doing here and since Joseph won't do what he's told I guess it's on to plan B." He purred pulling me closer to him so that we were now standing face to face. He reached up to wrap his hand around my neck.

At that the small, blonde kid stumbled forwards and waved his hands around trying to get Slade's attention trying to speak to him in sign language. He looked so desperate and scared… Then it dawned on me _, the Titans must have been trying to find the kid, Joey, and that was the reason why Slade was going to try and kill me. He doesn't want the Titans to find out the kid's here._

"Hey kid can you kind of help me out of this? And I promise I'll help you out of here. Deal?" I asked the kid turning my head to face him. _Yes I was desperate. Desperate enough to ask a little kid for help._

The kid nodded and pointed to his eyes but was shoved out of the way and fell the ground with a thud.

"Don't you dare try to help him, Joey," Slade seethed. _Boy, did he sound pissed._ "Remember what you promised me, stay out of this."

The kid, who was still on the floor, said something to him in sign, I have no idea what though. _Shit, I should have learnt sign when I had the chance._

I glanced down at the boy and caught his eyes they were glowing, sea green then coal black.

 _Contact?_

"Whoa, what the hell is going on?" I scream feeling my body no longer become mine. The kid had vanished but something was controlling my body. "Get out!"

 _ **No! I'm trying to help you. Calm down, now!**_ Can a small voice from somewhere in my mind. _Great I'm hearing voices in my head_

My body lashed out striking the Terminator in the face and forcing him to let me _us?_ go. My body grabbed for my belt but was pulled back by a hand grabbing my damn cape. _Can't blame me for the design flaws, bird-boy made it._

"Joseph, get out of him now!" Deathstroke snarled dangerously.

My hands moved, sliding fluently through the air, it must have been sign because I had never done that before and in my head the small voice whispered; _**No dad, I don't want you to kill this boy, there are other ways around this. Please…**_ _and I thought my home life was fucked up._

Joey pulled away ripping the cape and freeing me from his dad.

Letting out a roar that could shatter glass the man lunged forward but my body was already into motion. We dropped, sliding along the floor and grabbing my belt mid slide. Leaping up we ran through the open door. _We need to get out now._ _ **Yes, yes!**_

Something slammed into us throwing me forward and crash into the far wall _._ _ **Run Red X!**_ I got up, I could move, I had control. I looked up to see Slade grabbing Joey by the arm the march towards me.

I took the kid's last advice to me and vanished without a trace.


	6. silence

**Hi all! I have another chapter! yay! the first part of this story is a flashback but it is on the same timeline as the flashback in chapter 3: past, it's support to happen right after that event. Also merry last Christmas and a happy late new year.**

 **Disclaimer?: I don't even own a car what makes you think I own DC or Teen Titans. also can some one tell me if Joey went to a special school to learn sign or di he just learn it from somewhere else?**

" _What the hell were you doing to that poor child? I was sitting in the kitchen when I heard him screaming, it sounded like you were torturing him." Wintergreen snapped when I came back from putting Robin to bed, he had already been asleep by the time I got to his room but even in sleep he had seemed sad and angry._

" _Will, he was just being particularly difficult tonight, he challenged me and I got angry. He started it so I had to finish it." I sighed, sitting down at the kitchen table. I was surprised by Will's anger, I had never really seen him get that angry, annoyed yes but never angry. He had decidedly become softer than he was in the army with me. Even when I had beaten the boy previously on other occasions he had merely scolded me for being too hard on him._

"' _He started it'? What are you? Five? You should know better than to let your anger get the best of you. He wants you to get angry, he wants you to lose control because that's what he wants to expect from you: violence. He told me that he was afraid of you, not because you hurt him, no, he can take that, he's scared because you're unpredictable. You're nice to him, act like you want him to see you as a father but then you turn around and break his arm simply because he defied you." Wintergreen stopped as if to catch his breath, he hadn't yelled at me but his voice was raised._

 _I didn't know that the boy had confided in Wintergreen but I guess it wasn't an odd revelation, Robin had never confided in me unless I had probed and manipulated him into telling me what was bothering him but even then he was still closed and emotionless._

" _What else has he told you?" I snapped, I didn't want Dick to think he could run to Wintergreen and that he didn't have to talk to me about his problems._

" _Only that your unpredictable that that makes you terrifying because you're an enigma to him, he has lived with you for almost two months now and still knows nothing about you. He provokes you because you show him the only side of yourself that he knows, the angry mercenary who doesn't care about human life. I know that's not who you are but that's how he sees you, and when you show him kindness he gets confused because he doesn't know anything about this side of you so he tries to get you to be the man he thinks you are."_

 _I sighed and took off my mask, I felt so tried despite the fact that I rarely slept._

" _You sound like you want to give me advice to stop Dick from being unnecessarily aggressive, so go ahead; tell me." I was sick of Will lecturing me on how to handle the boy. Grant never had to be coddled and Joey, well Joey was different._

 _Thinking of the boys I just felt even more tried and sad so I turned my mind back to training Dick. It would be hard to train him too hard for a while because of the fracture but I could always start training him in robotics, hacking and teach him new languages. The basics of course, I didn't trust him enough yet to teach him the things he could use against me and he wasn't ready to learn how to kill yet, I needed to break him first._

" _Firstly you need to let him know that you know who he really is under that mask. You're lying to his face, allowing him to feel false safety behind that mask when there is none. Secondly, if you want him to see you as a father then act like one, don't allow him to make you angry, control it, you need to be consistent with him. If you're going to be nice then don't slingshot the other way and break his other arm, he can't take that. Allow him to trust you, show him your face, or at least tell him about Grant or the army. I don't know, hell, Slade tell him your full name, you know his name and his background! Trust don't come easily to either of you but you have to make the first step towards it." Wintergreen mused with a mixture of anger and pity, for whom I didn't know but he seemed just as tried as I was._

" _I am not telling him my whole life story! He doesn't need to know about Addie and the boys or my time in the army, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell him about the experiments or my full name. But I will not take off my mask. I don't trust him, he hasn't earned my trust yet." I said gruffly, annoyed that he thought I was the one that needed to change my attitude when Dick was the one begging for pain._

" _Whatever Slade, I'm going to bed, I know when my advice is falling on deaf ears."_

Slade walked in and slumped on the kitchen courter, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"I take it you didn't fine Red X then?" Will asked, not looking up from steering something in a wok. The contents sizzled and popped, emanating a spicy smell that Slade had to say that he wasn't a fan of.

"No and I looked all over the damn city, the kid can disappear when he wants to I'll give him that. What I don't understand is why didn't Joe just use his powers and get it over with faster, he was scared and that's what I can't have if I want him to be safe," Slade sighed. He took off his and started systematically removing his armour.

"You pushed Joseph too far, he isn't Grant," Will offered over his shoulder.

"So everyone keeps telling me. What the hell are you making?" Slade asked angry trying to look over the man's shoulder.

"Well since it was your night to cook, in fact, you promised I wouldn't have to cook every damn night. I asked Joseph what he would like to eat so we're having fried rice."

"I'm sorry, I didn't plan on this, tomorrow Will, I promise. Wait, when have you ever taken orders or even requests from anyone?"

"Since he decided he wasn't going to eat until you came to talk to him, it's been four days and you haven't even gone to talk to him yet." Will answers snappishly.

"He hasn't been eating? Don't tell me he's going to be like Dick. That night was terrible, he didn't talk to me for an entire week and he'd flinch every time I said his name."

"But he did obey your every order like the obedient apprentice you wanted." Wintergreen added slyly.

"I wanted an apprentice not a robot, Will, I can make them anytime I want. I don't want Joey to hate it here I want him to trust me, I want him to be safe." Slade signed placing taking off the metal guards that protected his arms, legs and chest into a pile for him to pick up late. Will was in one of throughs moods that simple refuse any physical work tonight.

"I know that and you know that but he doesn't believe you when you tell him that's all you want because at the moment he sees this experience as just another opportunity for you to gain power over another's life. If you want my advice: give him more freedom, you've been locking him up like a prisoner every time you leave this house. Whenever you're not training him let him roam the house and give him something to do, if you get him time to think with nothing to do he'll start etching the number of days he has been locked up in there on the wall."

"How long hasn't he been eating?"

"You weren't listening to a word I said, were you?"

"I was just thinking whether it was good advice or not." Slade said innocently with a smirk at his old friend.

"I don't know why I bother." Will shook his head with distain. "Go get him for dinner, that way you can talk to him on the way down."

"What do I do if I need to punish him?"

"He has been locked in a room with no natural light and barely any human contact for four days. He has been punished enough for now. You can't rip off his mask and expert him to change. He doesn't have an alter-ego, he doesn't wear a mask; Jericho can't just disappear when you take his costume away, it's a part of who he is, that's what you need to understand. You can make him stay here but you can't make him like it."

With a slow, thoughtful nod Slade left the room and made the slow assent to his son's new room. The boy had been here for little over a week and already he was being locked up for disobedience. On the third day of training they had been stopped midway by Red X. The fool had threatened to kill him. Ha, that was a laugh. The boy was so much like Dick; using his misguided rage to fight blindly. He wondered if the Batman knew what had become of his former protégé and if he knew about boy's rebirth, probably, he wasn't called the World's Greatest Detective for no reason.

He had no reason to worry about the Justice League or Batman this time, they had no reason to get involved as Jericho had no contact with them and wouldn't notice his disappearance and Titans wouldn't get the League involved unless they were desperate. There was no need to worry about the Titans they were just annoying flies that would medal in things they didn't understand.

He stopped outside Joey's room, listening for any sign of movement from inside. He could hear harsh scraping sounds from inside the room.

With the quick realisation of what his son was doing Slade almost broke the door down in his haste to open the locked door.

Inside Joey was on his knees in front of the barracked windows. Slade had boarded them up when he had first decided that this room would be his son's new room, there were a few reasons why he had done it, the main reason being that he wanted to have a range of reward for his son to get when he was obedient or had improved in his training, another being his guitar.

The boy was a mess. Tears rolled unstopping down his red cheeks as his face twisted in silent sobs that racked his entire body and his hands… Oh boy, his hands; the nails bloody nabs and his knuckles had been all but skinned, likewise the wooden boards were smeared with blood and only a few small cracks and dints to show for the boy's painful labour.

Slade practically ran across the room to kneel down beside the distressed boy.

"Joe, Joey? What's wrong son? What have you done? Are you okay?" That was a stupid question, a better question would be; _what do I do?_ But that wouldn't help with the situation.

Joey looked down at his hands and opened his mouth in a silent scream, smearing blood all over his own face in hysterical movements.

"Joey, calm down. You're okay, Joe, I've got you," he picked the boy up effortlessly and wiped away a stray tear that had stopped halfway down his cheek. The boy looked up with wide eyes, he couldn't communicate easily with his hands in their painfully mangled so he simply mouthed through trembling lips:

 _Dad, I want to go outside._

Slade hugged him mindful of the boy's hands as he carried him out of the room and down the hall.

When he entered the kitchen minutes later Wintergreen look up as he dished out three heaping piles of rice and vegetables.

"What happened?" The older man hissed, looking at Slade accusingly; stepping forwards to look at the boy more closely.

"Get the medical kit Will, I'll explain once we've put something on these… Cuts," was the only response he was given.

The man nodded and hurried to the cupboard where the medical supplies were kept. It had become a common practice for medical supplies to be scattered spatially throughout the house because although Slade never needed medical attention and Wintergreen was perfectly healthy for someone his age, their time with Dick had taught them that you could never be too careful.

"Joey this going to sting for a bit," Will explained softly, getting out an ointment that smelled of herbs. Joey nodded and held out his hands. He had his eyes squeezed shut as though he couldn't look at his own hands without going into hysterics.

Wintergreen quickly dabbed at the red, gruesome wounds as Joey bit his lip. He then wrapped each finger in white bandages. After it was done Wintergreen turned to face Slade.

"What happened?"

"I found him in his room like this he was trying to see out of his window," Slade explained. "He was crying and… well you know"

"Oh Joseph-"

"Maybe we should give him some healing serum, he looks like he's in pain." Wintergreen picked out a needle from the kit and walked over to the boy. The instant Joe saw the needle he reeled backwards on the chair and would have fallen off if Slade hadn't grabbed his arms and steadied him on the seat.

 _No I don't want that don't come near me, she told me to stay away from needles!_ _(Claps for you if you get this reference_ ) The boy cried silently, lashing out with his feet but he was weak from blood lose, lack of food and barely any sleep.

"Joe, this will make you feel better, trust me."

 _No!_ His muted cries were ignored and the needle pierced his skin and injected the contents into his bloodstream.

"It's slow acting you'll be healed in an hour or two," Wintergreen explained softly.

"It's still early, how about we save the rice for tomorrow and go out for dinner?" Slade asked opening a cupboard and picking out a large plastic container and started scraping the rice mix into it. Wintergreen just glared and huffed angrily knowing that he couldn't do anything to change his friend's mind but Joe jumped up, a wide smile spreading across his face.

 _Really?_ He signed excitedly.

"Yes. Will, can you go get him a coat, it's quite cold out there." Slade said ignoring the man as he mumbled something under his breath but Slade was sure that Will knew that he was just trying to atone for his mistake.

Twenty minutes later, they were walking dome the streets of a city. Wintergreen had muttered that he did feel like joining them and Slade had murmured about the old man's devotion to his diary.

Although it was early autumn the wind was cold and every person who was walking along the streets walked fast with their heads down not noticing as the father and son made their way through the crowd. Slade constantly glanced to the side at his son as though he was worried the boy would make a run for it.

 _Where are we?_ Joe asked, he was hard to understand because his fingers were odd and fat with bandages.

Slade frowned, unsure whether or not to entrust this information to his son who could just be asking so that he could use it to his advantage in his escape.

"Steel City."

Joe stopped dead in his tracks. Slade turned with the shadow of a smirk across his face. The boy look almost fearful as though it had only just dawned on him that there was no escape and that his place was beside his father where he could be protected from his father's opposition.

"I never told you how long that sedative lasted, did I?" Slade said hiding his amusement with mock curiosity.

 _Dad, Why? I wouldn't run away! Why did you have to bring me to the other side of the country? How?_

"I had a private jet waiting for you. You were only out for a day and besides the Titans East won't know you're here right under their noses." _And besides they're over in Jump, in fact the Titans North and South have both been notified and a few Honorary Titans have been called in. Jump is buzzing with heroes_. "If we were still in Jump we wouldn't be able to go out like this." He replied calmly, purposefully neglecting the mention Jump Cities' current state.

Joseph's face didn't change emotion but Slade could see the disappointment in his son's eyes.

They continued walking in a different kind of quiet that shrouded them previously, now it was harsh and awkward.

"This is it," Slade said stopping in front of a fancy, high class restaurant. The door was opened for them and as they stepped through the door they were welcomed by a wall of heat and a waiter who had met Slade before.

"Hello again Mr. Wilson and..?" he trailed off expecting the boy to introduce himself.

"None of your concern, James. Don't ask questions that don't need to be answered." Slade scolded quietly. "I would like a secluded room out the back as usual please."

"Certainly sir anything you need." James said nervously, tugging at his white dress collar.

They were escorted to their table and left there with a menu and a bottle of chilled water. James left without another word.

 _This isn't what I had in mind when you said we were going out, Dad._

"Just be grateful I'm letting you out of the house, and you will eat this meal. I can't have you starving yourself to get my attention."

 _I'm not doing it to get your attention._

"Oh, so you were doing it because you feel like you don't have power over your own life anymore, hmm?" Slade smirked, rolling his eyes sarcastically.

 _No. I don't want to talk about it with you,_ joey signed angrily.

"Then what do you want to talk about?"

Joey scanned the menu that had been placed in front of him.

 _Can I have pizza?_ He asked.

"No." Slade answered shortly, not looking up from his own menu.

 _But it's what I want to eat!_

"Then why did you tell Wintergreen to cook fried rice?"

 _Because I wanted to make it easy for him; I know how much he hates cooking._

"Why do you have to think about other people's wellbeing before your own?"

 _Because I'm a hero. I'm a Teen Titan, it's what I do._

"You are not a Teen Titan and you never will be, it is not what you _do_ anymore. Is that clear?" Slade almost yelled in his angry. How could his son see the world not as it is but as heroes like the Justice League and the Teen Titans wanted it to be? They saw it as a fairy tale land where if you give you'll received. That's a lie. The good die young and the bad get away with it.

Joey just nodded his head dejectedly. A cloud of silence settled over them again as Slade read the menu and Joey began folding the napkins into origami. The little white birds looked fragile as he set them back on the table in front of him.

 _You went to Grant's funeral. That was the last time I saw you._

"Yes I was there." He whispered solemnly his eye looking at nothing but distant memories.

 _Do you know how he died? Mum never wanted to talk about it in front of me._ Why did the boy insist on learning about the death of his own brother? slade had tried not to bring it up because he thought it would be a topic that could make Joey snap emotionally and he really didn't want to have to deal with that on top of everything else.

"Yes." He whispered, trying to get the boy to drop it.

 _How?_

"He was cocky and got himself into a bad situation that he couldn't get out of." The man said simply yet sadly.

 _Mum said it was your fault._

"That's because she never wanted to listen to my side of the story."

 _Mum said you could have saved him but you didn't._

"She was wrong. I did all I could, but there was nothing I could do."

 _You didn't try to save me when I needed it._

"I tried to. Joe, I saved you, I just-" but he was cut off by his son who now looked like he was about to go into some kind of panic attack.

 _Couldn't save my voice?_

"I'm sorry Joey." Slade said in as much sincerity as he could muster, why did Joey always have to bring up painful memories just to prove a point, the kid could wretch your heart out just to show you that it was made of stone.

 _You say that but your actions say otherwise, Dad._

"I don't know how to convince you."

 _Mum was angry with you after Grant died, she said she was going to go finish the job she started with your eye but I stopped her. I said you hadn't meant any of it, I guess I was just lying to myself. My friends-_

"You mean the friends that will never trust you because you're my son?"

 _Don't twist my words! They are more of a family then we ever were!_

"I don't want to talk about this. I was hoping we could have a civil conversation but obviously not."

 _They hate you, you know? For what you did to Robin and Terra and Raven, I know about it; Beast Boy told me._

At that moment the waiter stepped in, the two looked over at the intruder and Slade was pleased to see that he looked thorough freaked out about walking to the room and most likely interrupting the conversation. Slade was actually very pleased with the man's timing, he hated the way this conversation was headed. He wanted his son to be grateful to work alongside his father, he thought the boy would be pleased to get his father's sort after attention but it seemed all he wanted was to get as far away from his past as possibly. Slade had to take a different approach from he wanted this relationship to grow and last.

"We will have a Hawaiian pizza with extra ham and a steak, medium rare, thank you." Slade said shortly, waving he man away before he could ask them anything else.

 _You remembered that I like extra ham?_

"Yes it's one of the most important things I remember about being a family.

 _You eat too much steak, Dad._ The boy giggled thinking back to the rest of the order.

"Maybe but it tastes good so I don't see a problem with it."

There was a pleasant silence as they both ate their respective meals. Slade glanced over the table at Joey, the boy was happily eating his pizza with what could be the ghost of a smile on his face. It was clear that simply being nice and emotionally nurturing towards him was all he needed to be happy. Slade would need to remember that, at the moment, the boy was emotionally unstable and didn't need any mind games or mental insecurities at this point in time. He had learnt that from teaching Dick.

"I was wondering Joey, would you like to begin your schooling again? We can home-school you while you're here, it could be interesting. I know you never finished a whole year at your last school because of… Complications." He asked setting down his fork to look over the table with his head resting on his entwined fingers.

Joey didn't move for a long time and then finally shrugged. _Okay._

Joey had always hated school. He wasn't academically minded and was shunned by the other kids for being mute and not being able to easily communicate with any of them and every now and then a kid would push him too far and he would have to move schools again. He had been home-schooled by Adeline for a while but then she had been killed at her work and he hadn't wanted to go on with his education while up in the mountains.

He continued to eat his meal thinking over everything that had happened that night. He couldn't let that it happen again, he would have to take the boards off his son's window if he wanted the boy to remain sane though this experience.

 _Thank you._ Joe motioned quickly and continued eating.

Wintergreen was right he could ripe Jericho away from the boy; that was who he was, if Slade tried to do that all that would be left would be a shell of a human and that was _not_ what he wanted. He wanted a son.

 **okay, so this wasn't my favourite chapter but I hope you liked it.**


	7. emotions

**Hello all!**

 **I won't be shipping Kole and Jericho- sorry- but I read through their relationship and it never went anywhere even though Kole wanted it to, and yes rereading it all now I realise how much of a player Joey is. omg, he is with a different girl every day- but I think most of it is for work and he's just close friends with most of them.**

 **But yes this is chapter seven with Robin as the main character. please tell me if you like the flashback or not, I'm not sure about it. Have fun!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or DC Comics cause if I did I would ask Marv Wolfman to write more and there would be a 6th season of Teen Titans.**

It hadn't taken very long for the Teen Titans of Jump City to get the media's attention with the mass amount of teen super heroes that had taken up root in the huge tower on the main island overlooking the city. Of course they had no idea why the Tians had gathered again and could only assume that it wasn't good and Robin couldn't help feel like they were right. Only after Joey's disappearance had it truly dawned on him: Slade was alive.

If Slade was back they would need help, not just to find him but to bring the mute Titan home. Robin had called the Titans who not only could help with the search but who knew Jericho and had become friends with him upon meeting him.

In the end he had decided on the Titans East, Herald and Kole to call to the western tower to help with the search. Jericho was a Teen Titan first and foremost, Robin couldn't ask the Justice League for help. That would be counterproductive to what they had achieved the past years as they were still trying to demonstrate their independence to many of their former mentors.

Kole had come straight way after hearing about her friend. Robin hadn't really taken notice of the two when they had met at the tower after the defeat of the Brotherhood of Evil but it seemed that they had become close friends although Jericho had never said anything about Kole when he arrived at the tower. She seemed to become hysterical after hearing about the disappearance of the silent blond and Raven had to sit her down with a cup of chai tea before she calmed down fully.

Robin spent most of his time with the rest of the enlarged team. He had learnt over the years not to push his friends away and he was sure that if he tried to retreat to the evidence room for any long amount of time Star would drag him out but not before half destroying the article-covered room.

He laughed every time he remembered that that had happened before. It had taken him weeks to get the room back into respectable shape. Star, of course, had not been apologetic about the matter. She had said that everything in the room was just a reminder of his time with Slade. This was true, he had even made up a glass case for his old apprentice outfit. His friends had all but begged him to destroy the thing but he had said that it was a reminded of something that he wasn't but something that he could become if he wasn't careful.

It was late and he was taking newfound evidence to the evidence room. He unlocked the door and stepped in. The room was dark and smelt of dust.

"Robin, may I ask you something," someone behind asked shyly.

Robin started and whirled around to see who it was only to breathe a sigh of relief to see Kole standing wide-eyed behind him.

"Kole, God, you scared the crap out of me. What is it you want to know?" He asked, smiling at the Northern Titan.

"Sorry, I just… Whoa, look at this place," she stared around and the dim room in wonder but her eyes quickly stopped on Robin former apprentice uniform, to Robin's dismay. "What is that?"

"It's just something that reminds me what Slade did to this team and how past choses are carried with us for longer than we know," Robin said, his voice fading into memory.

Kole stood there looking back and forth from Robin's face and the suit. She looked like she didn't really understand but at the same time Robin knew that she knew that that suit was his in his darkest days.

"I… I just wanted to know if Joseph said anything about me." Kole asked, scuffing her foot on the ground shyly.

"Oh um, sorry, Joey didn't really say anything about you while he was here," he said awkwardly not really knowing what to do, it was obvious that Kole really wanted Jericho to notice her. He knew exactly what it was like to like someone and have it be unrequited like Batgirl or to be so awkward around the girl in question that the relationship never went anywhere like Starfire. Lucky Star and him had become closer and started a really strong relationship. "But then again he was really freaked out about Slade threatening him so he didn't really have any time to mention you." He added trying to comfort her.

"Yeah, that must be it, but Robin, I don't think he likes me, I don't know what to do. You've been with Starfire for a while now, how did you know she liked you."

"Why are you asking me? Why can't you ask one of the other girls- Starfire or Bumblebee or something, I'm not very good at relationship advice, I mean I was raised by Batman after all," he laughed, scratching the back of his neck.

"I was really asking you because you're a boy and I wanted to know what a boy would think of this conversation, you know, since you can understand sign I thought Jericho would have confided in you out of anyone else here."

"Well, err… she always showed it and I always felt it but I just suck at telling people how I feel about them, I guess if you're asking for my advice I would tell you to tell him how you feel because that was what was holding us back for so long. But we have to find him first so go get some sleep because tomorrow we'll be heading to Steel City to start more searching there. I'll see you tomorrow Kole, good night."

"Okay, I really hope he's okay. See ya, Robin." Kole said before walking down the hall to her room which was next to Jericho's empty room.

Robin turned and stepped further into the room and closed the door. He hadn't been ready for Kole questions and it shocked him how much she liked the blonde boy and how much she was worrying. As soon as the news had gone out to all the other Titans of Jericho's kidnapped she had left Gnarrk with the Titans North and came straight to the tower to see if there was any way she could help in the search and rescue of the boy she had only met once before.

She was a nice girl but Robin had a feeling Jericho didn't feel the same way she did. He could remember how Jericho acted around her; that they were friends and in Joey's eyes would never be anything more than that.

He walked over to stand in front of the glass case. It was a ugly, dark, twisted version of his own Robin uniform but obsessively branded with Slade's mark; he might as well branded him on the forehead instead of making him wear this. Just looking at it made him feel dirty and weak.

He turned away but something in the case catch his eye, a piece of paper. He quickly unlocked the cabinet and picked up the sheet. On it was a message written in neat, formal writing.

 _Dick, I hope you don't mind but I'm taking back my son, you have already been marred by horrors and the tragedies of your past and I will not have Joseph getting hurt in your annoying and pointless crusade against the crime element of Jump City. He is worth more to me than you will ever know. I have no intention of making him my apprentice so I expect you to be waiting for me. And don't worry, I'm not going to use any overzealous punishment on him like I did you._ _He is no longer Jericho and therefore in no longer none of your concern. I don't expect you to believe this, in fact I would be mildly astonished if you left Joseph to me without a fight. As you know I am his father and therefor objectively know what is best for him. Stay away from us until I came for_ you _again, Robin, you will just be making it harder on him if you don't._

 _Slade._

Robin wanted to scream, laugh and cry all at the same time. This note had only raised questions and answered none. The boy still had no idea where the hell Slade could have taken Jericho and no way of tracing the man who had been extremely thorough about the kidnapping of his own son. Judging by what the man eluded to it seemed like they weren't in the city anymore which would give evidence to Cyborg's calculations.

Another thing about the letter that made him want to cruel up into a ball and start crying was the fact that Slade sounded like he wasn't going to give up on making Robin his apprentice. He said he would come back and take him. Should he show this to the team? He had no idea if this would help or hinder the situation. Robin felt like if he showed the letter to the Titans they would try and wrap him up in bubble-wrap and lock him up in the tower. Robin didn't want a repeat of last time but he also felt like without him the Titans would have a hard time locating Jericho, after all he was the Boy Wonder and he was trained to be a detective by the Dark Knight himself.

Robin ran to his room and shut the door, locking it behind him. He grabbed the suitcase from under his bed. It had a red Robin logo imprinted on the side but otherwise looked like a normal metal case. He quickly unlocked it. His teammates had seen what was in this case when it was stolen by a villain no one really cared about catching. He had felt like it was time to open up to his team and family, they, up until then, didn't even know who he really was. Granted Raven had seen his past as if it were her own and therefore knew his identity but the others were oblivious of his past.

Inside with a few things from his past; a rolled up poster of the flying Grayson's, a stuffed elephant he named Zitka from his time at the circus, a batarang and a photo album.

Photo album in full of photos from both his time with Haley's Circus and his time at Wayne Manor, he was in the process of fulling another section of the book with pictures of him with the Titans.

Instead of looking though the book like he did sometimes, he throw the letter into the case a slammed in shut. The Titans didn't need to know about the note and he certainly didn't feel like being bombarded with stupid questions. The note held nothing important in their investigation and it was meant for him and him alone otherwise Slade would have left a recording on the main computer for Cyborg to find. At least that's what he told himself to try and calm his nerves.

He yarned loudly as he got into bed and switched off the lights. He would have to remind himself that he was safe, Slade couldn't get to him when he was surrounded by the ones he loved nor could he use the same tactic he used before. Slade couldn't get to him, by he could get to Jericho.

 _I was curled up into a ball on my bed, his bed, I didn't own anything anymore. The one thing I had was my name, my identity and now he owns that as well. He knew all along who I was he was just lying to me, like he always has and always will because that's who he is._

 _I had been lying on the hard bed for what seemed like hours now, I couldn't get to sleep; I didn't want to sleep, not with him in the same building as me. He had taken Robin away from me and although some aspects of Robin were still showing though they would soon fade and he would be the emotional wreck whose parents were killed in front of him._

 _The door opened but I didn't look around, I don't care who it was or what they wanted. If it was Wintergreen, he had just showed me how little he truly cared about my wellbeing and if it was Slade he was probably here to beat the snot out of me anyway so there was no point in trying to talk to either of them. I was too full of a mixture of anger and depression. There was no point in anything anymore._

 _I felt a hand grab my shoulder and squeeze it comfortingly and a weight pushing the bed down to the floor with a squeak of protest._

" _Dick I just want to see if…" Slade voice came from behind me but I didn't feel like turning around to face him._

" _I don't want you to call me that… Please." I mumbled into my knees._

" _Why? It's your name, I thought you would want me to call you by your name," he sounded like he actually cared about my opinion, he sounded nice and fatherly. He wasn't really, he was just lying again._

" _I don't want you to because that's what my dad used to call me. Only Bruce is allowed to call me that. It's what close friends and family call me and you're neither." I said, my voice hitching at the mention of Bruce._

" _Oh, I'm more of a father than Wayne will ever be for you, I know all about you, I know everything about you." The man above me purred, pushing my bangs away from my face._

 _With that I sat bolt upright and back-peddled until my back hit the wall, trying to get as far away from him as possible._

" _You're not my dad and you never will be, you may think you know a lot about me but you know nothing. I'm not like you, Robin may have shown qualities that you also have but you are nothing like me." I said, glaring across at him, disgustedly._

" _So you and Robin are different?" He didn't sound surprised and I had the feel that he knew that Dick Grayson and Robin were different._

 _Robin was fearless, determined and laughed in the face of the Joker whereas Dick would cried at his parents funeral shamelessly and although he flew thought the air above crowds of shocked onlookers he cared about how people saw him and therefore wasn't a big fan of Bruce Wayne's fame._

" _Yes, but I hate it here and that doesn't change whether I have a mask on or not. I don't want another dad, I already have one and he's one thousand times better than you. You are cruel and sadistic and I don't want anything to do with you." I cried, pushing him away weakly._

 _Slade didn't move. I could tell he hated being yelled at especially since I was yelling about how much I hated him and how he would never be anything more than my captor._

" _Dick… Richard," he amended. "Bruce Wayne let you leave him, he never adopted you as his son and he never really cared about you, you know that right? You were always a charity case to him, someone to keep the tabloids happy and preoccupied and Batman used you as a pawn in his dangerous game. He put you in direct danger with little to no training or protection in an overly obtrusive costume he made you go up against enemies Batman himself would have a hard time defeating. I would never do that to you Dick, I will only give you missions I know you a can handle and I will train you to be able to protect yourself properly. I can be the father you deserve." He whispered softly, reaching his hand out towards me, offering it up in the hope that I would take it._

 _I didn't want to, he was everything I wasn't and he was lying to me, trying to get me to believe that Bruce was the evil one. I knew that wasn't right, I knew that Bruce loved me as a son, he had told me many times before I left. And that was who I believed, Slade was trying to manipulate me, get me to focus all my hate and anger towards my former mentor. He was wrong, I loved and trusted Bruce far too much to let that happen, I wouldn't let him twist my words or play mind games with him._

" _That's not true. I don't want you in here, I don't want to talk to you. I want you to leave." I muttered, looking under my hair at him, waiting with baited breath for his reaction._

" _Dick, and I will be calling you Dick, you need to learn that no one is going to save you. You're here because you gave up your life to me. I won't leave because I want you to talk to me in a civil manner. I will leave this room when I want to." Slade said slowly with a hint of agitation. This would usually be the time when Dick would shut up but he wasn't ready to give in to Slade yet._

" _You can't be my master and my father at the same time." I whispered quietly, hoping that he wouldn't hear it._

" _I know and I'm sorry for earlier, I went… A bit over board," Slade chuckled leaning forward, he arms outstretched as if to hug me but I flinched away as if he had just raised a hand to hit me. He was acting weird and uncharacteristically out of character. Did Wintergreen badger him to come and talk to me?_

" _No you're not. You just want me to hate my friends and family so I'll join you. I won't do it," I huffed, sitting up straighter against the wall._

" _That's your loss, Dick," he said as he got up a headed for door. "Just think of this; I have not lied to you in here, I haven't hit you and I haven't enforced my power in your room, and you lied to me." After that he left, locking the door behind him._

 _I was alone, right where I deserved to be._

They had decide that they would split up into two teams and work from opposite sides of the country, Jump and Steel, and asked every hero to look out for Deathstroke in their city. So far they hadn't heard anything back from any hero apart from a private com-link from the Batcave. Batman had been intent on finding out why the supervillain might be at large in his city. Robin had told him the whole story and quickly cut him off before the man could lecture him about taking down Jump's crime element as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Of course Batman knew everything about his time with Slade and knew what was at stake. Robin had even gone back to Gotham for a few weeks to mentally recover from the experience and Bruce had only been a little bit mad about the damage done to the Jump City Wayne Tec. building. But even after knowing what the psychopath had done to him he still let Robin go back to Jump. He only lectured him still because he simply wanted Robin to do his best but although Robin knew this was true they still annoyed him.

Robin, Starfire, Kole, Speedy and Aqualad travelled to Steel to continue their search for Joey there along with taking quick stops along the way to check in with each hero to make sure they were up to speed.

They were finally standing in the eastern tower and Robin let out a sign of relief, he had had a terrible night sleep the night before and it had taken a long time to get to the second tower.

"So Short-shorts,I hope we aren't going to do a round of the city because we're all tried as hell and I just want to go to sleep. If Jericho's survived this long then im sure he can last another night before we bust in a save him, right?" Speedy stated, lounging on the couch in the main room looking around at the others as if looking for them to agree.

"Who is Short-shorts? No one here is wearing such attire." Star commented, looking around at the group as if to see another member who wasn't there.

"Shut-up Speedy! I know we are all tried but we can't waste time, Jericho could be going though all kinds of terrible things," _like Slade's strange sense of kindness._ "If you were in that situation you wouldn't want us to leave you just so we could 'veg out' when we're tired."

"But that's just it, I'm not him, he's Slade's son. He's probably in league with the guy and just trying to play us for fools. He probably wants to be with his dear old dad. He's probably sending us on a wild goose chase." Speedy snapped back, waving his arms around wildly to emphasise his point.

Robin didn't say anything, on the inside he was fuming at the idea that Speedy would believe Jericho would turn on them but he needed to be the 'bigger man' as Batman would say. Kole stepped forward and without warning punched Speedy across the face, the sound of the hit echoed around the silent room. No one moved.

"Don't you dare even think that Joey ever wanted anything to do with his father! He hates his father. He couldn't say it but he loves you guys, you're his new family. How could you believe he's evil?" she yelled angrily, looking like she wanted to punch him again.

Okay, geez, I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry," Speedy muttered sourly, rubbing his cheek.

"Alrightty then, I think we should all call it a night and start up the search tomorrow. Is that alright with you guys, I mean, it's just that we're all a bit on edge and we all need to get some sleep."

"We should call his communicator before we call it a night, Robin, he might be on the other end," Aqualad offered, seeing that Kole wasn't happy about leaving the search until the next day.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Robin said, pulling out his own communicator.

They had tried this for the past week and had discovered that the signal was cutting off somewhere in Steel but as they gathered eagerly around the small yellow devise they were disappointed to find that the signal was still being blocked by an unknown source. They were still unable to reach the muted Titan but they were getting closer.


	8. family

**Hello all.**

 **God I hate school please tell me I'm not the only one.**

 **this chapter was so hard to write I just didn't know what I wanted to happen but I hope you like it anyway.**

 **disclaimer: yeah, no I don't own anything that is that good.**

 _What would you do if I just ran?_

"I would have to go after you."

 _But you know that it would be best for me if I ran. Don't you want what's best for me?_

"Sorry?"

Joey sighed and made to grab for his notepad. Wintergreen now knew the basics but some words still weren't making any sense to him. Joey wrote down what he wanted to ask the elderly man.

"Oh, yes of course I want what's best for you Joseph but I fear that living on a secluded mountain top and fighting alongside the Teen Titans is far more dangerous than anything that could happen to you here in our care. We can protect you here and no one knows you're here so you are safe from anyone who might want to hurt Slade and is willing to hurt you to get to him." Wintergreen glanced sideways to assess the boy's reaction. Joey just sat there making no move to rebut Will's opinion.

They both sat outside in the large expanse of garden surrounding the mansion looking out into the small forest that led to nowhere out the back of the building. Joe knew that his father wasn't watching through a window because he had said that he was going out. He was right. Slade had allowed the boy to go out into the garden while under the supervision of either him or Will and as he was away on business it was Wintergreen's job to watch the boy.

 _Can I go for a walk?_

"Of course, where will we go?"

 _Alone._

"I don't think you should, you could get lost in there; there aren't any paths to follow." Will said worriedly as if he was genuine about his reasons for not letting Joey walk off on his own.

 _I just want to go for a walk, I won't be long and I won't go far, why can't you guys just leave me alone?_ Joey wrote angrily.

The real reason why he wanted to be by himself outside of the mansion was that he wanted to try the communicator and since he couldn't use it inside because the signal was being blocked he had to try it outside to see if that would make it work. If he wanted to try to communicate his friends he needed to be away from the house and alone, he knew that if Wintergreen found out about his one way to contact the Titans he would take it away and tell Slade. He would be in big trouble if Slade found out and he wouldn't be allowed to do anything by himself snuffing any opportunity to escape.

"Joe, you might think I'm doing this because your father told me to but I'm really doing it because I want you to be safe, I don't want you to go through the same thing you did when you were eight. I know your father can be difficult and over protective but he just wants the best for you."

 _Is that what you said to Robin when he was with him, that Dad wanted the best for him? You were lying! He wants me because he's lonely and he just wants someone to control not because he loves me!_

Joey ran, he didn't care if Will had understood him or not. He dashed towards the trees, not stopping even when he heard Wintergreen yelling after him, he didn't care if he got in trouble later for this, he just wanted out.

He didn't stop running for a full ten minutes and only then because he tripped and flew, skidding and crashing into a tree with a thunk. His eyes blurred and he rubbed his head as tears ran down his face. He hadn't reached the boundary of his father's land and he had no idea where he was or how far he still had to run.

He was surrounded by trees on all sides and after a few turns he had no know from which direction he had come from in the first place. It was disconcerting but he liked it. It had being far too long since he had been allowed outside the confines of the house let alone allowed to wonder through the nature surrounding the mansion.

In that moment he had the overwhelming urge to sit against a tree with an easel and some paint and paint the scene unfolding around him. Along with the guitar he was also barred from painting which was a big part of who he was and what he did, he was really good at it too and was even given a scholarship to a prestigious art school before his mother had died.

He doubted his father would allow him follow what was in his opinion a weak and meaningless job. Although she loved his work Adeline had had little patience for her son's love of the arts. Neither of his parents really understood him because he wasn't like either of them. Even so his mother hadn't made much of a fuss when she found out about him becoming a hero, in her eyes it was better that he was being a hero and not following his father into the family business. They had all seen where that led and had all gone to Grant's funeral.

He pulled out the device from his sock and turned it on. He picked himself up, Wintergreen would have already called his father and he was sure that no matter where he was in the city, it wouldn't take him long to get back to the house and Joey had to put as much ground between them as possible.

He pushed the emergence button that would link him straight to Robin. Nothing happened. The screen just gave him several options to contact the Titans. He went straight for the messages option since it when the only one that was useful to him.

 _Robin, please help, I'm lost and he's after me._ He sent, his fingers speeding over the keys.

After a few minutes of walking there came a reply.

'Where are you?' it had to have been Robin, he hoped it was Robin.

 _I'm in a forest, out the back of my dad's mansion. Help me, I'm lost and if I stay in the one spot he'll find me. I don't want to go back Robin, he's scaring me; I don't like it._

'Stay there. We'll follow the tracker in your communicator to find you, it won't take us long. We'll bring you home Joe.' Come the reply, it unnerved him that he didn't know who was on the other end, it could be Robin or Raven or some other Titans that he hadn't gotten to know well.

 _Okay, but come fast, I don't know how long it will take Will and Slade to find me._

"Not long." A hand slammed down on his shoulder and almost crush his clavicle. Joey felt like crying but he couldn't, he just shook his head.

 _I was never speaking to the Titans was I?_

"Not today son. I knew you had the communicator, I was letting you keep it because you were so proud that you had a way to contact the Titans I didn't want to ruin that for you. But you know better than to run off when you were told not to. Come, your coming back with we." Slade said sternly, grabbing Joey's arm tightly so that even if he tried he wouldn't be able to get away from his dad. "You will not be allowed outside again until I decide I can trust you again."

 _Dad, no!_ Joe signed franticly, he didn't want to be trapped inside the endless maze again.

"If you didn't want this to happen you shouldn't have broken my trust. I can't have you running off and trying to contact that worthless group of children. The only skilled member they have is Robin and he can't even save himself let alone the members of his mismatched team. They can't protect you, only I can." The man growled as he dragged Joey back towards the house. He was alone, Wintergreen wasn't with him.

Joey tried to pull away but was unable as his father's stride sped up he found it hard to not only escape but to keep up. He crushed into the man's back as Slade stopped abruptly and turned around to face his son. He knelt down in front of him place a hand on each shoulder so Joey couldn't turn away.

"I'm doing this to protect you, look what you did to yourself when you were left alone for fifteen minutes. You have cuts all over your face and arms and I think you might have a concussion. Can't you see you're safer with me?"

 _No dad, I'm fine, I don't need help or protection, I've shown you in training that I'm capable of looking after myself in a battle and I lived alone for two months until the Titans found me._

"I don't want you to being them up just to prove your point, they are worthless and have nothing to do with you anymore"

 _They mean everything to me._ Joey signed looking down and the ground instead of at his father.

"That's enough." Slade snapped hardening his grip on the boy's shoulders coursing the boy to cringe in minor pain.

 _Aren't you going to punish me for running away?_

"No son, you don't deserve it."

 _What did Robin do to deserve it?_

"Are we really go to do this? Now?"

 _Yes._

"He was different. He wasn't my son, he was my apprentice."

 _But you don't even give me freedom like you would for your real son. You did treat me like an apprentice but you don't treat me like your son either. What am I to you dad? I don't think I need your trust. I'm old enough now that I can take care of myself and I've proven it in the last couple of months and if I get in trouble I have my powers._

"Yes, the power whose weakness is a hessian bag."

 _Shut up._

They walked on in silence for a few minutes. It was an awkward silence that they had both mastered in the past few days since Slade had taken him out for dinner.

"So, mind explaining who this Kole-girl is?" Slade asked looking out of the corner of his eye to assess the boy's reactions.

Joey stiffened and his eyes glowing into large saucers. How could his father have known about his friendship with Kole?

 _Stay away from all the Titans Dad! I don't want any of them getting hurt._

"That was not an answer to my question and you know it."

 _You know that we're just friends, Dad, that's all it's going to be._

"She acts like she wants it to go farther than 'just friends'"

 _I know._ Joey sighed like he wanted to explain himself but he felt like he didn't have to explain anything to his father, he already knew.

"I haven't given you the talk about the birds and the bees yet, have I?" Slade asked slyly in a bit to stop his son from looking so depressed.

 _No and you don't need to, I ready got it from Mum and I don't want to hear it again!_ Joe scrunched his face up at the memory.

"Aww that was my job." He grumbled in mock sadness noticing that the boy had become a lot more animated now.

 _Dad!_ Joe laughed pushing his father away playfully. A shadow fell over his face and it grew dark almost sunken. _You weren't there. You were too busy with your job, mum did it for you because you were never around._

"Joey, I-"

 _No you listen to me for once. The count said you could see me a few days a year and you never came. I always told people you forgot, I stood up for you! But I was just lying to myself, you don't forget anything except the thing you don't care about._ Large tears spilt down his face as his knees hit the ground. He brought his hands to his face as he let out strangled, gurgling sobs that racked his body.

Slade stood there awkwardly, he didn't have a secret identity to silence the boy with nor could he stop any painful cuts or scrapes. He hadn't had to deal with this kind of situation in years and for all his skill at being tactical he had no way to stop his son from crying. He knelt down to kneel next to the small boy who was sobbing uncontrollably and wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into his chest.

"I don't know what to do when you're like this Joe, I don't know what to say. I suck at being a father, I haven't had to be one for a long time." Slade whispered.

 _I can see that Dad,_ Joey signed shakily.

"Why are you crying?"

 _I just want a normal family, Dad, I've never had a normal, loving father. I can't remember you any other way then the way you are now; twisted._

"I'm know."

 _The Titans were my last chance, they wanted me to stay; they made me feel loved._

"I'm sorry Joe, I'm so sorry for… For everything." Letting the boys head fall against his chest, soaking his shirt.

The two men knelt there in the forest that surrounded the mansion. They didn't move for a long time only rarely breaking the calm, relaxing silence to ask a question or tell a story. The sun went down and only after an elongated period of peaceful silence did Slade realised the boy had fallen asleep. He chuckled and he picked the boy up in his arms and carried him towards the house.


	9. confused

**Welcome, welcome all!**

 **I finally decided to post this yeah, go me! I reread the last chapter and it was so cute I didn't know what should follow it so I hope this is okay.**

 **Have you ever noticed that although Joe is always surrounded by women he has only ever been in a one clear, loving relationship? (from what I can tell) I always found that weird. anyway back to the story, Con!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything, because then it would imply that I have money.**

 _So what are doing today Dad?_

"What do you want to do? I had today booked for training but if you to do more school work to catch up we could work on that instead."

 _No that's… fine I guess._

"You don't sound too sure."

 _Dad I was hoping we could take a break for a day you know; a weekend. We don't always have to be working you know._

The two men were sitting at the table in the dining room; they were across from one another instead of at either end of the table. It was early morning and Joey was sitting in from of a bowl of cereal. This was how mornings usually played out now after Joey's last escape attempt.

They had both stepped out of the woods with puffy eyes and to Wintergreens surprise as he had been waiting to rescues the boy from his father whom he had expected to be furious. He had thought that it would be back to square one like with every time Slade had caught Robin trying to escape. That wasn't the case. Slade had been kinder to his son after that which surprised everyone. They had both bonded in a positive way.

Joey had been calmer then before and didn't flinch when his father went to give him a pat on the back or ruffle his hair. In Slade's mind this was exactly what it should have been like with Robin: the boy would have rough patches and fight back but ultimately they would both find their place and grow closer to one another.

Inside Joey feared what this would make him become; if his father would ask him to do something that he didn't want to do and he would do it anyway because he was forced. He still felt the same way about everything that his father didn't without telling him. He was going out in his Deathstroke uniform and when he came home he would have Joey go to his room so that he didn't have to explain himself to the boy. He would say to the boy that he wasn't lying but in Joey's mind a lie of omission is still a lie. He didn't want to know what his father did when he went out because he already knew and he hated not being able to lift a finger to stop him, by the time he knew his father was on a job it was already too late; the contact was either died or as good as died.

The man stared over at the boy with his one eye analysing everything about him; his hair, his, expression, his posture and his choice of clothing. The boy, much to his father's dismay, had a tendency to wear the clothes that most closely resembled his little hero costume that Adaline had help him make when she was still around, a white, collared shirt with a purple vest and blue denim jeans. His messy hair was shone wetly from the shower that he had had before coming down to the dining room and brilliant sea green eyes stared back at him, with baited breath for his Father's answer.

It seemed that despite the fact that they had been making progress in leaps and bounds the boy still didn't trust him enough to remain civil while asking him a question that should be a somewhat easy question to ask. Yes, he would have turned Robin's words against him so that by the time he was done with the boy he would be begging him to train and forget that he had ever asked him such a stupid question that he should he know the answer to. But that was Robin and he knew now that that was not the right way to go about manipulating the boy. He was constantly making mental notes on what to do in every situation and found that he was able to do and say a lot of the right things around his son with causing him to not break down emotionally which was what he had wanted with Robin in the first place.

He realised now that he was treating Robin like Grant, like he was strong enough to take any mental lacerations that Slade gave him but in truth the hero had been more like the younger of the two boys: emotionally unable to sustain a health relationship with someone who hurt him at any point in his life.

"Sure, we could do a lot of things that isn't training or schoolwork; we could go out hunting together, how does that sound?"

The boy flinched violently and shut his eyes tight, hunching over as though to ward off a horrible thought or memory. He shook his head violently not looking up for a long time. Slade didn't speak, he knew he had said the wrong thing; it really was a trial and error exercise at this point in time. He was constantly afraid that this would happen; that his son would shut down and not move after Slade had said something or done something that he didn't like. He had first meant it as a joke but his voice made it sound look he really wanted to go on a hunting trip with his son who not only hated guns but hated to see anything get hurt be it an animal or a human. Truthfully Slade was scared to take him out on a hunting trip simply because he would probably try to jump in front of the gun if his father tried to shoot anything living.

"Joey, I didn't mean that, I wasn't going take you hunting, not unless you really wanted to."

The boy didn't move so with a sigh Slade stood up and walked into the kitchen. After a few minutes he could hear the clink of a metal spoon on china. The boy stepped into the kitchen and put the bowl in the sink silently. He looked up at Slade.

 _Can't we just have a normal day, like we used to, when we were a family? That's all I want; a family. It's all I've ever wanted and I almost got it with the Titans but you didn't let me have it._

Slade hated it when his son brought up the Titans. It was really the only thing that made him uncontrollably angry. Why didn't the boy understand that he didn't want the Titans anywhere near him? They were a bad influence and he couldn't have that.

He grabbed the boy's upper arm, with a stronger grip than he meant to as the boy let out a silent scream of pain, and pulled him close, bending down so they were looking eye to eye.

"Stop! Just stop talking about those stupid kids. They're no longer part of your life, you shouldn't be thinking of them with everything you do anymore. You've been here for two months now and it's not like I'm hiding, if they wanted you back they would have come to knock the doors down by now. They don't care about you anymore, they don't want to have you on their team because in their eyes you're a liability you're a direct relation to their greatest enemy and for the first time in a long time I'm doing the legal thing; the right thing." Slade said, shaking the boy roughly to make him listen. "I don't want you to talk about them ever again. They are insignificant to you, to us. Do I make myself clear?"

He let the boy go and watched as he stumbled back, crashing into the counter top with a dull thud. The boy looked scared as though he thought Slade would attack him right then and there. He was wrong. Slade hadn't really meant to scare the boy but… Shit! How could anyone do this without screwing up? It was impossible and despite the fact that Slade loved a challenge he also hated to lose and at the moment he was losing terribly.

"How about… How about we watch a movie? I can get popcorn if you want?"

Joey shook his head, pressing his thumb and forefingers together into the sign for 'no'. This was so frustrating. What did the boy want? Grant was far easier to satisfy, why couldn't the boy just be like his brother?

"Then what do you want? You could just go work on studying for this biology test that's coming up next week but then you say you want to do something else that doesn't involve training or learning but you won't offer up any suggestions so what do you want me to do? Read your mind? I can't do that Joey; I can't read your damn mind."

 _You would like that won't you Dad? To be able to read my mind and know how to control me? Well you can't, Dad. You can't do that because if you did you would know what it's like for me here. I try and talk about something that makes me feel happy and you shut me down!_

"Joey, stop this now."

 _There you go again. Telling me that I can't say something because you didn't want to hear about it, but I do. They made me so happy, I felt safe there. But here I feel like if I say the wrong thing at the right moment you could go off the deep end and do something we could both regret. I'm not Robin Dad. You don't need to train me and you can't control me because I'm not afraid of some mysterious man in a mask, you can't use my fears against them because I live in the some house as the very thing I've always feared._

"Me?"

 _Loneliness._

"Joey, I-"

 _You still don't get it, everything won't be all fine and dandy if you say something 'heartfelt' like 'I'm learning how to be a father again' that crap won't work on me for a second time. You still haven't changed. I can see you're trying but you're not trying hard enough. I'm not like the others Dad I won't stand here and let you manipulate me._

Slade smiled faintly.

"You sound just like your mother; I guess you got a mix of our determination and her bullshit-radar."

 _It must have broken when she met you; it took a knife to the throat of her favourite son for that radar to be fixed but I'm glad it did. I'm glad she wised up before you got us all killed._

The silence was deafening. They just stared, or rather, Slade stared and Joe glared, at each other not daring to move or even speak to one another until finally Joey broke the silence.

 _I'm going to study for this test, if you need me I'll be in the study._

He pushed off from the table and walked out of the room. Slade made no move to stop him from leaving; he was still too shocked to move.

Teenagers! Why did they always have to go against what they're told? Slade stood there for a long time, going over the conversation in his head again and again; he couldn't see where it had gone so wrong. He had tried to be nice to the boy, why didn't he see that? The boy was still angry at the fact that Slade had told him not to talk about the damn Titans. The Titans, it always came back to them, why didn't they always have to get in his way? Why couldn't they just let him do his damn job? Even the Justice League wasn't that nosey, that was because many of the smaller members had asked him to do a job for them. But the kids didn't see that he was a vital part of their existence they saw the world in black and white and if anyone opposed them as he had they would fight like the childish fools they were.

Slade couldn't stand the fact that although he had moved out of the line of site of the brats he still had do put up with them corrupting his kid.

His phone buzzed and before it could repeat itself he pulled it out of his pocket and put it up his ear.

"What is it Wintergreen?"

'Sir, the Titans there here, in Steel, the call that Joey put out must have worked to some extent.'

"Are they all here?"

'Not all of them. From what I can tell from my source is only Robin, Starfire and the Kole girl. The rest of them are the resident Titans.'

"God they follow us like a bad smell."

'Do you want me to start packing, sir?'

"No, I don't want Joe to become alarmed. Keep a low profile, Will, I don't want Robin to see you."

'What's your plan?'

"I think I'll how to call up an old _friend_ for a favour, will."

'Just don't take it too far sir.'

"I can't make away promises."

'That's what worries me.'

The phone shut off and Slade put it back in his pocket. He could work with this, or make it work for him.

If it wasn't against his code he would torture, gut and burn all of their bodies in front of his son just to show him that the Titans weren't worth his time. But he wouldn't because killing children directly with no reason to do so isn't what he did and other then having them out of his hair he would have nothing to gain in doing so.

He made his way to the study only to see Joey sitting then bent over his work furiously writing only the assignment paper.

"Which question are you doing?"

He lifted up the paper so Slade could read the bold title: 'Explain your chosen physical (phenotype) or genetic constitution (genotype) trait using a Punnett Square to explain how your parents' genetics led to the way you look or act.'

"Good. What have you written so far?"

 _It's not finished._

"I want to read it anyway."

 _Fine, take the damn thing._ He through the piece of paper at the man but he was able to catch it easily with his enhanced reflexes.

' _I don't know how to write this but I'm really sorry Dad. Oh it's already getting cheesy as hell! I over reacted and I shouldn't have said thoughs things about Mum. I know that's not what it was like. We were happy but oblivious. We were a family. I just wish Jackal had never come after you but it wasn't your fault, you just over estimated your skills. That's what the Titans do all the time. They know they have flaws and they work on them until they don't have them anymore. I know you hate me talking about them but I'm sure that I would talk about anyone who left a lasting impression on me like they have. Deathstroke left a lasting impression on me; not a good one, but I'm sure if things had worked out differently I would have looked up to him like I do the Titans._

' _I guess what I'm trying to say in a round-about way is that I'm lonely and I just want to hang out with someone today, not someone to hunt with, someone to talk to. I know I've said this before but I'm not Grant and I'm not Robin, I'm me and no amount of training will change that. You can train me all you like and I will learn but I won't use what you teach me because I won't care enough to do that, so there's no reason for you to teach me. But I know you'll try._

' _What I said to you was true; I won't be bullied into anything that I don't want to do because I know now that you won't force me to do things that go against my code. And yes, I do have a code, it's stricter than yours but it's still valid. Mum once asked me to do something that would go against my code and when I didn't do it she didn't understand why but she still let me stand by what I did. She didn't try and change me like you are now._

' _I'm not saying that Mum was the best person in the world, she had her flaws and she didn't understand why I wasn't like the rest of you but she was my Mum and I loved her._

' _You're probably coming to yell at me now; you won't raise a hand against me though because that would be counterproductive. I just want you to know that I'm sorry for all the bad things I said to you, I meant them at the time but I also understand where you were coming from now that I have a level head I just want you to know that…'_

Slade looked up; there were tears in the boy's eyes.

"This isn't what the question asked you to do. You didn't put in a Punnett Square" Slade said smiling down at the boy. He bent down and wrapped the boy in a big hug, he didn't cry this time he just smiled back.

 _I want to try and be your son again._

"It's still early, you go pick out a few movies; I'll get the popcorn."

 _Yes, sir!_ Joey put a hand to his forehead in a mock salute and headed for the lounge room.

This made Slade laugh loudly as the boy scurried away, his son could be so cute sometimes. He had won this round and that made him extremely happy.

After getting the promised popcorn he settled down in front of the flat screen TV. It was almost as big as the wall and the room itself was set up like a cinema. Joey already had the movie going and was sitting in the sit next to him.

"Haven't we seen this movie before?" He asked after a few minutes.

 _So? It's a good movie; good movies deserve being watched again._ Joey signed, reaching over for a handful of popcorn and stuffing it into his mouth.

"Isn't this movie sad?"

 _Maybe…_ Joey said sheepishly.

"Are you sure you want to…"

 _Dad, shut up and watch the movie!_

"Okay."

 _I'll probably cry anyway because I'm a sissy._

"Don't say that, you only cry when you believe it's necessary, if you don't think want to cry then you won't and I won't judge if you do."

 _Thanks._

"For what?"

 _For this._ Joey leaned over and hugged his father and after a few moments Slade hugged back.


End file.
